Remove Endnote Formatting in Word Without Losing Notes

To remove formatting from endnotes in Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, select the endnote text, press Ctrl+Space to clear direct character formatting and Ctrl+Q to clear direct paragraph formatting. To change the formatting that Word applies by default, modify the Endnote Text or Endnote Reference style instead; these steps keep the notes and their links in place.

What “endnote formatting” means

Formatting can mean several different things in a Word document. The endnote text may have a different font, size, color, spacing, or alignment from the main text. Individual words may also have manually applied bold, italics, or highlighting. The small endnote number in the body of the document has its own character formatting. Finally, the line or spacing that separates endnotes from the document text can be formatted separately.

Word manages much of this through styles. The Endnote Text style controls the paragraphs containing the notes, while Endnote Reference controls the small reference markers associated with them. A style supplies a consistent starting point; direct formatting is an extra change applied to selected text or paragraphs. That distinction matters: clearing direct formatting does not necessarily change the underlying style, and changing a style may not remove every manual override already in the document.

If the goal is simply to make endnotes match the body text, change or reset their styles rather than deleting the notes. If the goal is to remove the notes themselves, that is a different operation and can affect the document’s numbering and references.

Reset formatting on selected endnote text

Use this approach when only some endnotes have unwanted manual changes, such as a note pasted in a different font. It removes direct character and paragraph formatting from the selected material while leaving the endnote structure intact.

Go to the endnotes. Depending on the document’s layout, they may appear at the end of the document or at the end of a section.
Select the text in the endnote paragraphs that needs resetting. Avoid selecting the endnote number if you want to preserve its reference-marker appearance.
Press Ctrl+Space to remove direct character formatting, such as manually applied font, size, bold, or color, and return to the paragraph’s style settings.
Press Ctrl+Q to remove direct paragraph formatting, such as manually applied indentation, alignment, or paragraph spacing, and return to the style’s paragraph settings.

These shortcuts do not make the endnotes identical to ordinary body paragraphs by themselves. They restore the formatting specified by the styles attached to the selected text. If the Endnote Text style is set to a smaller font or a hanging indent, those settings remain after the reset. Review a few notes after applying the shortcuts, especially if the selection included paragraphs with intentional variations.

Change the Endnote Text style for all notes

If every endnote should use the same font, size, spacing, or indentation, modify the style rather than formatting each note individually. On Windows, open the Styles pane with Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S. Find Endnote Text in the list; if it is not visible, use the pane’s options to show all styles. Right-click Endnote Text, choose Modify, make the required changes in the dialog, and confirm.

For example, if notes are too small to read, change the font size in the style. If each note has too much space above it, use the Format button in the Modify Style dialog, choose Paragraph, and adjust spacing before or after the paragraph. The precise settings you choose depend on the document’s needs; there is no requirement that endnotes use a particular font size or spacing.

Modifying the style updates paragraphs using that style, which is more reliable than selecting every note and making repeated manual changes. However, existing direct formatting can override the style. If a few notes do not follow the new appearance, select those note paragraphs and use Ctrl+Space and Ctrl+Q, then check the result again.

Format the small endnote numbers separately

The raised number in the document’s main text is not the same as the paragraph containing the note. It is controlled by the Endnote Reference style. If the reference numbers look too large, use the wrong color, or are not raised as expected, open the Styles pane, find Endnote Reference, and choose Modify. Adjust its font settings as needed.

Take care not to replace a reference marker by typing over it or deleting it accidentally. Word uses the marker to connect the location in the text with its endnote. Changing its appearance through the style preserves that connection. Also distinguish a true endnote marker from a number someone typed manually; a manually typed number is ordinary text and will not update as part of Word’s endnote system.

Find endnotes and inspect the separator

When endnotes are difficult to locate, use Word’s notes controls instead of selecting a large area at the end of the document. On Windows, open the References tab and choose Show Notes in the Footnotes group. If Word asks which notes to display, choose the endnotes. The notes area lets you inspect the notes and, in Draft view, access controls for items such as the endnote separator.

The separator is the line or dividing element between the document and the endnote area. It is not part of the note text, so changing Endnote Text will not necessarily change it. To inspect it, switch to Draft view, choose References > Show Notes, and use the selector in the notes area to display Endnote Separator. Make changes there only if the line itself is the problem. The available controls and their placement can vary somewhat with the Word version and document layout.

If the endnotes appear at the end of each section rather than at the end of the whole document, the document’s endnote settings may be responsible. That placement is separate from font or paragraph formatting. Check the Footnotes and Endnotes dialog from the References tab if you need to review placement or numbering options.

Formatting versus deleting or converting endnotes

Removing formatting does not remove an endnote. A common source of confusion is the phrase “remove endnotes,” which can mean either make them look plain or delete them. To delete an actual endnote, remove its endnote reference marker in the document text; Word then removes the associated note and updates the remaining numbering. Deleting only the words in the note area may leave the reference structure or an empty note, so use care and check the document afterward.

It is usually safer to make a copy before deleting many notes or changing a long document. If you only want notes to appear in a different location or use a different numbering format, review the Footnotes and Endnotes dialog rather than manually editing the numbers. Word manages note numbering, and typing replacement numbers can make the document inconsistent when notes are added or moved.

Converting endnotes to footnotes is also not the same as clearing formatting. Conversion changes where the notes appear and may change the document’s layout. Choose conversion only when you want notes at the bottom of the relevant pages, not simply because their font or spacing looks wrong.

Common problems and how to fix them

Some notes change, but others do not: The unchanged notes may have direct formatting that overrides the style. Reset character and paragraph formatting on those paragraphs, then check the style again.
Only the number looks wrong: Modify Endnote Reference, not Endnote Text. The note paragraph and the reference marker use different styles.
The notes still look unlike the body text: Resetting formatting restores the Endnote Text style; it does not make that style identical to Normal. Modify Endnote Text if you want different default settings.
The horizontal line remains: The line is the endnote separator, not text formatting. Inspect the separator in the notes area in Draft view.
Spacing changes unexpectedly: Paragraph spacing and indentation are different from character formatting. Use Ctrl+Q to reset direct paragraph changes, then inspect the paragraph settings in the style.
The note number changes after editing: Word automatically manages reference numbering. Avoid typing over markers or adding manual numbers in place of Word’s references.

Before making a document-wide change, test it on one note and inspect both the note text and its reference marker. If the document uses sections, different note placement, or a template with customized styles, check a note from each relevant part of the document. This helps reveal whether a style change will have the intended scope.

Word for Mac and Word for the web

In Word for Mac, the same principle applies: use the Endnote Text and Endnote Reference styles to control consistent formatting, and avoid deleting the reference markers when you only want to change appearance. Open the Styles pane from the Home tab and locate the relevant style; ribbon labels and the route to style options can differ slightly from Windows. Windows shortcuts such as Ctrl+Space and Ctrl+Q should not be assumed to work the same way on a Mac, where the Control, Command, and Option keys have different roles. Use the Mac Word menu or shortcut help for the current version if you need a keyboard equivalent.

Word for the web supports basic editing, but some advanced style and note controls may be limited or presented differently from the desktop app. If you cannot find a style-editing or separator control in the browser, open the document in the Word desktop application to make the change. Avoid relying on a web-view appearance alone when precise print layout or separator formatting matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will clearing formatting delete my endnotes?
No. Ctrl+Space and Ctrl+Q reset direct formatting; they do not remove the note references or their text. Deleting a reference marker is a separate action and removes the associated endnote.

How do I make endnotes the same font as the document?
Modify the Endnote Text style to use the font and size you want. If specific notes keep their old appearance, select their text and reset direct formatting so the style can take effect.

How do I remove superscript from endnote numbers?
Modify the Endnote Reference style and change its font settings. First confirm that you really want ordinary-position numbers; superscript is commonly used to distinguish references from normal text.

Why does Ctrl+Space not change every endnote?
It removes direct character formatting only from the selection. It does not change paragraph settings, alter the underlying style, or affect notes outside the selection. Use Ctrl+Q for direct paragraph formatting and modify Endnote Text for a document-wide style change.

Can I remove the line above the endnotes?
That line is the endnote separator, not part of the note paragraphs. In desktop Word, inspect it through References > Show Notes in Draft view and select Endnote Separator in the notes area.

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