Office for Mac Issues

Fix Word for Mac Footnotes Not Renumbering by Chapter in Tables

Chanuka Geekiyanage Sep 25, 2026 871 views

Question details

The user needs to correctly restart footnote numbering by chapter for footnotes located inside a landscape table.

Fixing Word for Mac Footnotes That Do Not Renumber by Chapter in Tables

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: Mac
Scenario: Formatting a document with section breaks to create a landscape page containing a table and footnotes, while attempting to restart footnote numbering at each chapter.
Observed behavior: Footnote numbering continues sequentially (e.g., 51, 52) instead of restarting (e.g., 22, 23) despite having section breaks and selecting the restart numbering option in Word.

Before you start

Ensure your document is saved before modifying layout settings, as manipulating tables and text direction to bypass this bug can temporarily disrupt your existing formatting.

Solution 1Recommended

Change Table Text Direction Instead of Using Section Breaks

Bypass the section break limitation by keeping the page in portrait mode and rotating the text within the table to create a landscape appearance.

This is a longstanding limitation in Microsoft Word where section breaks combined with tables prevent footnotes from restarting correctly by chapter.

Remove Section Breaks

Delete the section breaks that were originally inserted to create the landscape page orientation around your table.

Select the Table

Highlight the entire table that contains your data and the associated footnotes.

Change Text Direction

Navigate to the 'Layout' tab under Table Tools, click on 'Text Direction', and rotate the text 90 degrees so the table reads in a landscape format on the portrait page.

Change Table Text Direction Instead of Using Section Breaks

Text Box Limitation: Footnotes cannot be inserted directly inside a text box. If using a text box layout instead of a standard table, place the footnote in the main document text outside the box, and use a Cross-reference inside the text box.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I insert a footnote directly into a text box in Word for Mac?

No, Microsoft Word does not support inserting footnotes directly into text boxes. To work around this, you must insert the footnote into the main body text and then use the 'Cross-reference' tool to refer to that footnote number from inside the text box.

Why does the Footnote dialog not restart numbering even when the option is selected?

This is a known, longstanding limitation in Microsoft Word. When footnotes interact with elements like tables or text boxes across section breaks, the selective restart feature often fails to function correctly.

Is there another way to create a landscape page layout for tables without breaking footnotes?

Yes. Instead of using section breaks to change the page orientation, you can keep the document in portrait mode and rotate the table's text 90 degrees using the Text Direction feature. This avoids the footnote numbering bug entirely.

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