LibreOffice Writer Footnote and Endnote Settings

LibreOffice Writer provides flexible customization options for controlling where footnotes and endnotes appear and how they are displayed. Users can position footnotes at the bottom of each page or collected at the end of the text, place endnotes at the conclusion of the document or within individual sections, and fine-tune separator lines and spacing through global document settings, page styles, and section properties.

Global Footnote and Endnote Placement

Global placement settings affect how notes behave across the entire document. You can access these options via Tools > Footnotes and Endnotes.

• Footnote Position: In the Footnotes tab, under the Position section, you can choose whether footnotes are displayed at the Bottom of the page (default) or at the End of the document.
• Endnote Position: In the Endnotes tab, endnotes are set to collect at the end of the document by default, following all regular text.
• Numbering and Counting Rules: These tabs also allow you to determine whether footnote numbering restarts per page, per chapter, or continues consecutively throughout the document.

Page-Level Footnote Customization

To adjust how footnotes interact with the page layout, navigate to Format > Page Style and select the Footnote tab. This menu controls the physical space allocated to footnotes on a page:

• Footnote Area Height:
  • Not larger than page area: Allows the footnote area to expand dynamically as needed, up to the maximum height of the page.
  • Maximum footnote height: Lets you set a specific maximum height (e.g., 2.00 inches or 5.00 cm) for the footnote area. If footnotes exceed this limit, the remaining text continues onto the next page’s footnote area.
• Space to Text: Sets the exact clearance distance between the bottom of the main body text and the top of the footnote area.
• Separator Line: Controls the appearance of the dividing line between body text and footnotes:
  • Position: Align the line to the left, centered, or right.
  • Length: Specify the line length as a percentage of the page width.
  • Thickness and Style: Set the line weight, style (solid, dashed, etc.), and color.
  • Spacing: Adjust the spacing above and below the separator line.

Section-Level Footnote and Endnote Placement

If you need footnotes or endnotes to appear at the end of specific chapters or divisions rather than the end of the entire document, you can manage them using Sections (Insert > Section or Format > Sections):

• Collect at end of section: Under the Footnotes/Endnotes tab in the Section properties dialog, enable this option to gather all notes created within that specific section directly at its end.
• Restart numbering: Choose whether the numbering restarts at 1 for the section or continues from previous sections.
• Custom numbering formats: Assign distinct numbering styles (e.g., Roman numerals, letters, or standard numbers) specifically for the selected section.