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You are here: Experts > Computing/Technology > Microsoft Software > Microsoft Word > Cannot remove footnote 'ghost' in Word 2007
Microsoft Word - Cannot remove footnote 'ghost' in Word 2007
Expert: Pamela Mullenix-Croft - 10/25/2009
Question
Hi, I've written my masters thesis and for some reason footnote #147 won't go away. I see 146 and 148, but no 147. I went to my tracked changes and rejected the change that had deleted the text and accompanying footnote 147 some time ago, then tried to delete it with no luck. Though it disappears, 148 does not become 147, there's just a gap in the footnote numbering!
I've tried viewing the markers but there's nothing out of the ordinary there. When I cut and pasted a segment of text including footnotes 146, 147, and 148 to a new document (and they of course became 1, 2, 3), I was able to remove the offending footnote 2 and number 3 became number 2 as expected. I tried pasting this back into the real thesis, and it pasted as 146 and 148 - still no 147!
Do you have any guess as to the mistake I've made to bring this problem upon myself? Thanks in advance or any suggestions/help!
Answer
Hello Chris,
With layout problems it is difficult to troubleshoot when the user is well aware of the typical fixes, and the troubleshooter does not have the document in front of them. This is case in your situation. You know enough to check the typical items, and that is good.
Without having the document in front of me, I suspect that there is hidden text in the footnotes still lingering. It could be a paragraph return or what not. You can go to the Font command (Format on the menubar | Font, in older versions, or Home tab, then click the small X in the lower right of the Font group), and click the Hidden command in the Effects area of the Font window. Delete any remnants that might be in the area of the footnote for 147.
If that does not work, set your Browser button in Word (the tiny round circle just above the double-down arrow on the scroll bar in the lower right hand corner of the Word screen) to browse for Footnotes. When you click the double down-arrow arrow after setting the Browser to look for Footnotes, it will move to each footnote. You can click in the document close to Footnote 147’s proximity to save clicking time. That will at least tell you if the footnote still exists. This along with searching for hidden text, may help accomplish getting the footnotes back in order.
In the event that none of this works, I have included links that you may want to look over. Some of the information is from colleagues on the AllExperts board, and some from Microsoft. I hope that between my suggestions and theirs, we set you back on track.
Footnote Troubleshooting Sites:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Microsoft-Word-1058/deleting-footnotes-Word.htm
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Microsoft-Word-1058/non-sequential-footnote-numbering...
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3796562.php
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP012316351033.aspx
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP051862451033.aspx?pid=CH060830061033
Best regards,
Pamela
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