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

When you create a document with figures and tables in Word, are you writing 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 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 uniquely determines which figure or table is being referred to.

This article will explore the feature in Microsoft Word that allows you to insert chart numbers.

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, and append the “Sample Figure” to the Caption.

Suppose the “Figure” is not available on the label. In that case, you can add a new label by clicking the “New Label…” button, entering the label text, and then clicking the “OK” button.

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.

STEP

Right-click on “Caption” and select “Modify…”.

STEP

Change the line alignment to “Centered” and click the “OK” button.

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.

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.

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.

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 the 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 the figure is on a separate 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.

STEP

Since the default settings are fine, click the “OK” button to close the “Table of Figures” dialog box.

STEP

A table of figures is inserted.

Conclusion

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

Furthermore, when items are inserted in the middle of the document, and their numbers change, these are updated accordingly, helping prevent omissions when modifications are made.