Using Footnotes and Endnotes in Google Documents

Google Documents can be used with any of the word processing programs like Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, RTF, HTML or plain text documents, so it comes as no surprise that Google Documents also has similar features as those programs, including having the capabilities to use footnotes and endnotes.

Footnotes and endnotes are used as a form of citation in papers, articles and books. Whether it is quotes, to paraphrase a specific idea or data, sources are often footnoted or endnoted to show the reader what exact source (including page number) was used to support the content. The most common writing styles for citations are the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA). As a general rule, APA often does not recommend the use of footnotes and endnotes because of printing costs. This article will focus on using footnotes and endnotes in MLA format.

Before we begin to look at how to cite footnotes and endnotes in Google Documents, it is important to know what those concepts mean in order to avoid any confusion while working with those methods of citations. Footnotes are placed on the same page in numerical order, while endnotes are placed numerically on a separate sheet of paper specifically for endnotes or notes. You also must remember when you first cite the source a complete footnote or endnote must be done.

Be sure you have a Gmail account because you can usually access any Google program with your email address. Be sure to login with your Gmail account when using Google Documents, so you can save your work.

Once Google Documents is opened, immediately save your document. Your document is then saved under your Gmail account. Type or upload your content, saving every so many minutes. To insert footnotes in a Google Document, at the end of a needed source click on Insert and scroll down to Footnote.

A text box will appear in the right side of the Google Document. Type the proper source citation or extra content needed for the footnote. When you are done writing the footnote, click outside the box and continue working in the main document. If you need to go back in the same footnote, click that footnote to continue typing.

To see how your footnotes will appear when printed, go to Print from the File Menu. You can also view your footnotes in PDF by going to the File menu.

If needed, for whatever reason, you can delete or hide your footnotes. To delete your footnotes, click on the footnote box, and choose delete footnote. If you change your mind, you can undo the delete by clicking the undo button. You can also hide your footnotes in the margin, by going to the view menu and select footnote.

To print footnotes as endnotes, go to File Menu, and select Print settings, under Annotations, click on "Print footnotes as endnotes" and uncheck the "Include Footnotes" box.

According to Google Docs (http://www.aresearchguide.com/7footnot.html), documents downloaded as PDFs will display footnotes at the bottom of the page (as when printed from Google Docs). Documents that are downloaded as Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, RTF and HTML files will display footnotes as endnotes, that is at the end of your document, rather than at the bottom of the page."