Word doesn’t have a “hide footnotes” button, but you can get the same result by formatting them as hidden text. Modify the Footnote Text and Footnote Reference styles, check Hidden in the Font settings for each, and make sure hidden text is turned off in File > Options > Display. The footnotes stay in your document, so you can show them again any time, but they disappear from the page and from printouts. If you just want to read without footnotes for a moment, switch to View > Draft, which doesn’t show them.
Below are the steps for each option, plus how to delete all footnotes if you don’t need them at all.
Option 1: Hide footnotes with the Hidden font setting
Step 1: Hide the footnote text
- On the Home tab, open the Styles pane by clicking the small arrow in the corner of the Styles group (or press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S).
- Find Footnote Text. If it’s not listed, click Options and set Select styles to show to All styles.
- Hover over Footnote Text, click its arrow, and choose Modify.
- Click Format > Font, check Hidden, and click OK twice.
Step 2: Hide the footnote numbers in the text
- In the Styles pane, find Footnote Reference and choose Modify.
- Click Format > Font, check Hidden, and click OK twice.
Step 3: Make sure hidden text doesn’t show or print
- Click File > Options > Display.
- Uncheck Hidden text under Always show these formatting marks on the screen.
- Under Printing options, uncheck Print hidden text.
- Click OK. Also turn off ¶ (Show/Hide) on the Home tab, which shows hidden text.
The footnote separator line may still appear on pages that had footnotes. To remove it, go to View > Draft, click References > Show Notes, choose Footnote Separator from the menu in the notes pane, and delete the line. Switch back to Print Layout afterward.
To show footnotes again
Modify Footnote Text and Footnote Reference again and uncheck Hidden.
Option 2: Read without footnotes in Draft view
Click View > Draft. Footnotes don’t appear in Draft view. Switch back with View > Print Layout. This only changes what you see and doesn’t affect printing.
Option 3: Delete all footnotes
If you don’t need the footnotes, remove them all at once:
- Press Ctrl + H to open Find and Replace.
- In Find what, type ^f (or ^e for endnotes).
- Leave Replace with empty and click Replace All.
Save a copy of the document first, since this can’t be undone after you close the file.
Option 4: Share a copy without footnotes
Save a copy with File > Save As, delete the footnotes in the copy with Option 3, and share or export that version to PDF. Your original keeps all footnotes.
Want them gone for good? See how to remove all footnotes in Word.
Related: select all footnotes in Word.
Frequently asked questions
Will hidden footnotes still appear in a PDF?
Not if Print hidden text is off when you export. Check the PDF before sending it.
Can I convert footnotes to endnotes instead?
Yes. On the References tab, click the small arrow in the Footnotes group, click Convert, and choose Convert all footnotes to endnotes.
Why do hidden footnotes still take up space?
Word may still reserve the separator or space at the bottom of the page. Remove the separator as described above, and turn off ¶ so hidden text isn’t displayed.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.