How do I keep footnote citations of earlier footnotes up-to-date?

[Scorcher]

Sometimes I want to refer readers to earlier footnotes (e.g. for further
discussion of this topic, see footnote 8). Then often I will return to
earlier parts of the paper and add or take away footnotes. Word automatically
re-sets the numbers on all the footnotes when one is added or taken away,
which messes up my references. (Footnote "8" has now become footnote "4," and
the reader or editor can't figure out what I was talking about). I end up
having to go through each note individually throughout the editing process,
figure out what I was referring to, and change the number. It's really time
consuming.

Any suggestions as how I might link the reference to the footnote itself so
the number cited changes whenever the number on the footnote changes?

I'm using Word X for Mac.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You may want to ask about this in a newsgroup specifically for Mac users
(see http://www.microsoft.com/mac/community/community.aspx?pid=newsgroups),
but I imagine the answer will be pretty much the same: Use a cross-reference
to the footnote number. Insert | Reference | Cross-reference to Footnote:
Footnote number.

 

[Scorcher]

I tried it out. I thought it worked because it inserted the footnote
reference okay (this is a useful fearture thank you for pointing it out) but
I run into the same problem when I try to modify the footnotes: the place
where I've cross-referenced doesn't keep up with the changes to the footnote
it's referencing.

(I put in "see footnote 1," through the method you suggested. Then I went
and added an additional footnote to the beginning of the text, so that
footnote one became footnote two. The reference "see footnote 1" did not
change. I need the reference to change when I change the number on the
footnote, otherwise I have to go in manually and adjust all of my references
each time I add a new footnote that changes the numbers that follow.)

Sarah

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Cross-references (REF fields) don't update automatically, but they will
update when you print or Print Preview (provided you have "Update fields"
checked on the Print tab of Tools | Options) or when you Ctrl+A, F9 to
update all fields in the document.

 

[CyberTaz]

Cross-References, TOCs, Indexes & certain other types of fields *do not*
update automatically the way footnotes, endnotes & page numbers do. You'd
spend half your time waiting around if every type of field updated every
time a change took place in the doc.

If you want to see the updating of any particular cross-reference
right-click (Control+Click) it & choose Update Field from the contextual
menu. If you want to update all at once, just Cmd+A, then right-click
anywhere & hit the Update Field command.

For any further discussion on Mac Office issues you might want to use the:

microsoft.public.mac.office.word (or .excel, .powerpoint, .entourage)

newsgroups. The folks here will help you if they can, but there are some
differences with which they may not be familiar. For example, A PC Word user
might also suggest using the F9 key to update a field, but that won't work
on a Mac unless you first change a system pref for Dashboard & Expose

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac