Whether you want to cite others’ work in your presentation or provide the audience with relevant resources, footnotes are a great option. You can include footnotes in your PowerPoint presentation to avoid clutters in your slides.
So, how to add footnotes in PowerPoint? You need to type a number (typically 1 for the first footnote) first. Go to the Header & Footer option from the Insert menu. Then, go to Slide and tick the checkbox called Footer. After typing the target number and footnote text, click Apply. Finally, give the target number a superscript effect.
If it seems too difficult, let me break the process down into simpler steps with visual clues.
Why Do You Need Footnotes in PowerPoint?
Footnotes have several use cases in your presentations. Here is a quick overview of them.
- Stuffing too much information into your slides makes them boring. You can make the slides interesting by keeping the key information on the slide and adding footnotes for in-depth resources.
- When you use someone else’s work in your presentation, it is important to give them the due credit. By adding footnotes, you can cite their work properly.
- If you are using complex terms in your slides, footnotes can be helpful in explaining those terms to the audience.
How to Add Footnotes in PowerPoint? Step-By-Step Guide
Adding footnotes requires three main steps. But I divided them further into sub-steps for your convenience. Follow these steps to add your desired footnote to PowerPoint slides.
Step 1: Enter the Footnote Number
Open your slide and click the cursor where you want to add the footnote. Then, write the number you want to use as a footnote. As you can see in the following image, I have created a test slide and wrote 1 beside the Sample Text.
Step 2: Go to Header & Footer
Click the Insert tab at the top left corner of the window. From the options below, click on Header & Footer at the top right corner. It will open a new dialog box called Header and Footer.
Step 3: Activate Footer
Make sure you have the Slide tab selected. At the bottom of the dialog box, you will find a checkbox named Footer. Click the checkbox to make it ticked. The text box below the Footer will be active when the checkbox is ticked.
Step 4: Insert Footnote Number and Text
Write the same number you have already written on your slide. In my case, I have written 1. Put a space after the number. Then, write your desired footnote text in the text field. For example, I have given a sample footnote text. Then, you can click Apply to add the footnote to the selected slide.
Step 5: Apply Footnote
If you want the footnote to appear on all of your slides, you need to click the Apply to All button.
As you can see in the following image, the footnote has appeared at the bottom of the slide in the way I gave the input.
But you may have also noticed that the footnote number on the slide doesn’t look like the footnote you typically see. Let’s fix that now.
Step 6: Format Footnote
Select the number you want to use as a footnote. In this case, I have selected 1. You can see the number 1 highlighted beside the text.
Step 7: Style the Font
While the number is selected, click the Home tab. In the middle of the window, you will find the Font Tools section. It has a little arrow pointing at the bottom right corner of the screen. Click the arrow.
Step 8: Apply the SuperScript Effect
The Font dialog box will appear. Make sure the Font tab is selected. At the bottom left corner of the dialog box, you will find several checkboxes under the Effects option. Tick the Superscript checkbox. Then, hit OK.
Now, the footnote is looking like a real footnote. If you want to add more footnotes to your PowerPoint presentation, you can add them one after another.
How to Edit or Delete Footnotes in PowerPoint?
After you have added footnotes to the presentation, you may need to modify or remove the footnotes. To do that, follow the steps below.
Step 1: Go to Header & Footer
Click the Insert menu again and select Header & Footer.
Step 2: Modify Footnote Text
On the Footer tab, modify the footnote text if you want to edit it. Then, click Apply to All.
Step 3: Delete Footnote
If you want to remove the footer from the presentation, uncheck the Footer option. It will deactivate the text field. Then, hit Apply to All. The footnote will be removed from the presentation.
Here is a video that can help you in adding footnotes in PowerPoint:
How to Format Footnotes in PowerPoint Correctly?
Adding footnotes may be easy, but you need to be careful about how you format the footnotes. Here is a professional guide to formatting footnotes to make your presentation more attractive.
- If the font size of the footnote is too big, it will look odd. So, you should try to keep the font size of the footnote slightly smaller than the font size of the text.
- As footnotes are generally smaller, they might be difficult for the audience to notice. You can change the font color of the footnote so that it is in contrast with the text and easily visible. For example, if the slide has a white background with black text, you can make the footnote blue.
- Using numbers as footnotes is better because the audience can easily identify where the footnotes are. Make sure the sequence of footnotes is correct.
- Apply the same font size, font color, or other formatting to all footnotes.
Conclusion
Footnotes allow you to include a lot of resources in your presentations without making the slides a mess. Adding footnotes in PowerPoint is also simple. In this guide, I showed how to add footnotes in PowerPoint in easy steps.
Make sure you follow these steps correctly to enhance the overall appearance of your presentation. Stick to the general conventions of using footnotes to make them easily discoverable.