Use chart numbers in Microsoft Word for easy-to-understand documents.

When you create a document with figures and tables in Word, do you write it like this?

See the diagram above.

It is written in the following table.

The table on the next page shows the total results.

Although the preceding and following context will tell you which figure or table is being referred to, the following sentence would be more professional.

See Figure 2.

It is written in Table 1.

See Table 2 Results.

Using figure and table numbers in this way uniquely determines which figure or table is being referred to.

This article describes Microsoft Word’s ability to insert chart numbers.

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insert a table or figure number

STEP
Click the “Shapes” button in the “Insert” tab and draw shapes.

Draw it in a position that allows about four lines of text to be written on top.

STEP
Right click the shape and select the “Insert Caption…”.
STEP
Select the “Figure” from the label, the “Below selected item” from the Position, append the “Sample Figure” to the Caption.

If the “Figure” is not available in the Label, you can add the new label, click “New Label…” button, enter the label text and click “OK” button.

Set the number of figures to be inserted
Set the number of figures to be inserted
STEP
Open the “Home” tab and check if the text style “Caption” is displayed. If not, click the “Other” button in the lower right corner of the style list to display it.
Show hidden paragraph styles
Show hidden paragraph styles
STEP
Right-click on “Caption” and select “Modify…”.
Modify the paragraph style "Caption"
Modify the paragraph style “Caption”
STEP
Change the line alignment to “Centered” and click the “OK” button.
Set line alignment to centered
Chart numbers are inserted.
Chart numbers are inserted.

Refer to Figure Number

When referring to a figure number, use the cross-reference function instead of directly typing “Figure 1” or similar.

STEP
Open the “References” tab and click the “Cross-reference” button.
Click the Cross-reference button
Click the Cross-reference button
STEP
Select the “Figure” from the “Reference type”, and select the “Entire caption” from the “Insert reference to”.
STEP
Select the “Figure 1 Sample Figure” that has already been inserted in the “For which caption” section, and click the “Insert” button.
Insert reference to "Figure 1 Sample Figure"
Insert reference to “Figure 1 Sample Figure”
STEP
The “Figure 1 Sample Figure” will be inserted at the cursor position. Click the “Close” button to close the dialog.
STEP
Before the inserted reference string, type “See “, and append the “.” to the end of the line to complete the sentence.
Documents containing references to chart numbers
Documents containing references to chart numbers

Create a table of contents for figures and tables

The Insert Table of Figures function can be used to create a table of contents for figures and tables.

STEP
Move the cursor in front of the inserted “Figure 1 Sample Figure” and press return key to start a new line.
STEP
Move the cursor to the top and then click the “Blank Page” button on the “Insert” tab so that the figure is on a separate page.
Insert a blank page
Insert a blank page
STEP
Move the cursor to the top of the new page inserted and click the “Insert Table of Figures” button on the “References” tab.
Insert table of contents for figures and tables
Insert table of contents for figures and tables
STEP
Since the default settings are fine, click the “OK” button to close the “Table of Figures” dialog box.
Setting Table of Figures
Setting Table of Figures
STEP
A table of figures is inserted.
Table of Figures
Table of Figures

Conclusion

In this article we inserted a figure number. The same procedure can also be used to insert table numbers and equation numbers. Also, when you use the cross reference function of a figure number, it is not simply inserted as a string, but is also a hyperlink, so you can jump to the referenced figure or table when you output it as a PDF.

In addition, when items are added in the middle of the document and their numbers are changed, they are also changed accordingly, thus preventing omissions when changes are made.

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Author of this article

Akira Hayashiのアバター Akira Hayashi Representative, Software Engineer

I am an application developer loves programming. This blog is a tech blog, its articles are learning notes. In my work, I mainly focus on desktop and mobile application development, but I also write technical books and teach seminars. The websites of my work and books are here -> RK Kaihatsu.

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