Adding Cross References to Figures - in Word 2007

A Cross Reference in a word document assist us in adding a reference to a figure or any other object(headings, bookmarks, captions, numbered paragraphs, tables, footnotes, end notes) located in our document through a paragraph text.

Eg: Find the related diagram in Figure 2.1 on page 13. 

In above example, the highlighted fields are the cross references in the paragraph text. If we use cross reference in Word, then Word will do automatic updates to the cross references. So that we don't need to go to each and every reference and edit them, if we have added or deleted new objects. 

To cross reference a figure , follow the below steps.

1. Select the caption of the figure
2. Go to References ribbon
3. Locate the Captions panel
4. Click on Cross Reference. But don't Insert the cross reference until the below steps are followed.




5. Then click on the paragraph to add a cross reference.
6. Edit the fields in  Cross-Reference dialog box.

7. Choose the Reference type from the drop down.

As we are adding a cross reference to a figure select Figure. 

8. Then select the preferred option from Insert reference to: drop down.

If you need to add the cross reference with only the figure label and number, then select Only label and number or choose the desired from the available options.

9. Then select the object that we want to refer in the paragraph text from For which caption. 

10. Click on Insert. The caption will be added to the paragraph text. 

Adding captions to figures - in Word 2007

Adding captions to a quite a lot of images and formatting them one at a time is a very time consuming task. Instead of doing so, we can use MS Word's built in functions.

Lets first try to insert a caption with a preferred formatting to an image. Follow the steps below.

Tips : Always use the Insert-->Picture method to insert a picture to a word document in order to avoid any hassles. I was used to drag and drop or copy and paste an image from a image folder which gave me a lot of troubles. But now using the correct method and I'm hassle free.      

1. Select the picture
2. Go to References ribbon
3. Locate Captions panel
4. Click on Insert Caption

You will get the following Caption dialog box.

Change the Label to suite your requirement. It can be a Figure, Table, Equation or anything you want. You can add whatever you want by using New Label.

Position will let you define the placement of the caption.

More options for numbering the figure is available at Numbering. Use Include Chapter Number to add chapter numbers to the figure as well.

So do the changes according to your wish and proceed. The caption will be available along with the image. Apply Styles to the caption if you want to change the formatting.