How to Continue Word Footnote Numbering After a Landscape Table

Word may not continue footnote numbering after section breaks around a landscape table; removing those breaks is the suggested workaround.

Why Word resets the next footnote to 1 instead of 106

In Word Version 2202 with MS Office Home & Business 2016, footnotes can restart correctly at the beginning of each chapter when each chapter begins with a Section Break (Next Page) and the footnote setting is changed to start at 1.

The failure appears when chapter 3 contains a three-page table in landscape orientation with a section break before and after the table. After footnote 105, Word appears to let you open References > Footnotes and set Start At: 106, but the next footnote still falls back to 1.

Chapter-based restart at 1 works before the landscape table section is introduced.

Section breaks added around a landscape table interrupt the intended numbering flow inside the same chapter.

The Footnote and Endnote dialog suggests custom continuation is possible, but the result is incorrect in this setup.

The practical answer is a Word limitation

What Word supports here

Word can restart footnote numbering for a new section. That behavior is established and works for chapter starts in this document.

What Word does not reliably support

In this scenario, Word does not reliably restart one section and then continue sequentially in a later section within the same chapter by using Start At 106.

Recommended workaround

Remove the section breaks before and after the landscape table. Then mimic the landscape-style presentation by changing the text direction in the table cells instead of creating separate sections.

The next footnote after the table should be 106, but Word returns to 1.

The Footnote and Endnote dialog implies custom continuation will work in that later section.

Keep chapter sections, but avoid extra section breaks around the table if numbering must continue.

When Word says “Start At 106,” the safer fix is changing the layout method

This issue is best treated as a Word limitation tied to section breaks around a landscape table. If numbering must continue after footnote 105, remove those extra section breaks and use table text direction changes instead.

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WPS Office can test the same section-break workaround directly in WPS Writer on a duplicate DOCX file.

1. Open a duplicate document in WPS Writer and display formatting marks so the section breaks around the landscape table are visible.
2. Remove the extra breaks around the table while preserving the section break that begins the chapter.
3. Reformat the wide table inside the chapter section, using rotated cell text or another layout that does not require a separate table section.
4. Insert or inspect the next footnote after the table and confirm it is 106; then verify the next chapter still restarts at 1.

Verify headers, footers, page orientation, and footnote numbering together before keeping the converted layout.

Continue Word Footnote Numbering After a Landscape Table FAQs

Why does Word ignore Start at 106 after a landscape table?

The section breaks used to create the landscape pages split the document into separate footnote-numbering contexts. Word may show a Start at value but still reset the next section incorrectly because of this limitation.

Can footnotes restart at 1 for each chapter and still continue through a table?

Yes when the table remains inside the chapter section. The numbering problem arises when extra section breaks surround the table and interrupt the chapter’s continuous footnote sequence.

How can I keep the wide table without adding section breaks?

Remove the breaks around the table and test a layout that keeps the table in the chapter section, such as rotating text inside table cells as suggested for this case. Check readability before using the workaround throughout the document.

What should I verify after removing the table section breaks?

Confirm that the next note is 106, later notes remain sequential, chapter 4 still restarts at 1, and the table, headers, footers, and page numbering still appear correctly.