Office for Mac Issues

How to Insert a Section Break After Endnotes in Word for Mac

Ayan Masood Oct 7, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to combine multiple chapter documents while keeping each chapter's endnotes placed right before the start of the next chapter.

How to Insert a Section Break After Endnotes in Word for Mac

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: macOS
Scenario: Combining multi-chapter documents into a single file and organizing endnotes by chapter.
Observed behavior: A new section break is automatically inserted before the endnotes instead of after them, pushing the endnotes into the next chapter's section.

Before you start

Before combining your chapter documents, ensure that all your individual chapter files are properly saved and gathered in a single folder on your Mac for easy access.

Solution 1Recommended

Configure Endnote Placement to End of Section

Change the endnote location settings to target the end of each section rather than the end of the document, then insert the next chapter.

By default, Word places endnotes at the very end of the document. To combine chapters and keep endnotes with their respective chapters, you must configure endnotes to appear at the end of sections.

Open Endnote Settings

Navigate to 'Insert' > 'Footnotes' from the top menu bar. In the dialog box, set the location of Endnotes to 'End of section' rather than 'End of document'.

Set Numbering Preferences

In the same dialog box, look for the 'Numbering' option and change it to 'Restart Each Section' so that your endnote numbers reset for every new chapter.

Insert the Section Break

Place your cursor at the very end of the chapter's body text (before the endnotes). Press 'Return' to create a new line, go to the 'Layout' tab, click 'Breaks', and select 'Next Page' under Section Breaks.

Insert the Next Chapter

Go to 'Insert' > 'Text from File', select your next chapter document, and insert it. Repeat this process for all subsequent chapters.

Configure Endnote Placement to End of Section

Suppressing Endnotes: If you have blank pages or intermediary sections where endnotes should not appear, you can selectively suppress endnotes for those specific sections in the Page Setup dialog.

Manage Documents Easily in WPS Office

Seamlessly Combine Chapters and Endnotes in WPS Writer

WPS Office provides intuitive layout tools to manage complex formatting like section breaks and chapter-specific endnotes smoothly on your Mac.

1. Open Your First Chapter: Launch WPS Writer and open the document containing your first chapter.
2. Configure Endnote Settings: Go to the 'References' tab, click the small settings arrow in the Footnotes group, and set Endnotes to appear at the 'End of section'.
3. Add a Section Break: Place your cursor at the end of the text, navigate to 'Page Layout' > 'Breaks', and insert a 'Next Page Section Break'.
4. Insert the Next File: Go to the 'Insert' tab, click the 'Object' drop-down menu, select 'Text from File', and seamlessly import your next chapter.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) formatsIntuitive and easy-to-use interface for managing footnotes and endnotesAdvanced section layout controls for compiling multi-chapter booksLightweight, fast, and completely free to use on macOS

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my endnotes automatically jump to the very end of the entire document?

By default, word processors are programmed to place endnotes at the absolute end of the document. You must modify the endnote settings in the References or Insert menu to target the 'End of section' to keep them with their respective chapters.

Can I restart endnote numbering for each new chapter?

Yes. When you configure the endnote location settings, find the 'Numbering' dropdown and change it from 'Continuous' to 'Restart Each Section'. This ensures chapter one's numbering does not carry over into chapter two.

What happens if I suppress endnotes in a specific section?

If you suppress endnotes in a particular section, the program will push those endnotes to the end of the next section that does not have endnotes suppressed. This is particularly useful if you want to skip an intermediary blank page or title page.

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