This tutorial shows how to insert figure captions and table titles in Microsoft Word.
- Word Insert A Table Of Contents
- How To Insert Table Of Contents In Word 2016 Macro
- Creating A Table Of Contents In Word
- How To Insert Table Of Contents In Word 2016 Macros
One of the benefits of using Word's caption tool, as opposed to just typing captions and titles manually, is that the caption and title numbers will automatically update as you add figures or tables. You can also use the captions and titles generated by Word's caption tool to create cross-references.
The following steps also explain how to change the label and numbering for new captions and titles.
Update a table of contents. Word for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac Word for the web Word 2019 Word 2019 for Mac Word 2016 Word 2013 Word 2010 Word 2016 for Mac More. Go to References Update Table. Select one of the following.
- When you create an automatic TOC, either by using the content controls in the Table of Contents gallery or by using the Insert Table of Contents dialog, Word automatically sets a right-aligned tab stop, with period leader, to be just inside the right margin (if your line length is 6.5″, for example, Word will set the tab stop at 6.49″).
- Table – a list of captions etc within a document e.g. Table of Contents, Table of Figures etc. Table – a grid of boxes or cells placed in a Word document from Insert Table. Normally the two are separate and it's clear from the context which one we're talking about.
Important Note: Caption and title numbers won't automatically update if you move or delete figures or tables in your document. Visit 'How to Update Table and Figure Numbers in Microsoft Word' for information about manually updating table and figure numbers.
This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
Watch more than fifty other videos about Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Word for Office 365, which is currently the same as Word 2019. The steps are the same in Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word 2010.
How to Insert Figure Captions and Table Titles
1. Right-click on the first figure or table in your document.
2. Select Insert Caption from the pop-up menu.
Alternative: Select the figure or table and then select Insert Caption from the References tab in the ribbon.
3. Select the Label menu arrow in the Caption dialog box.
4. Select the option you want from the Label drop-down menu:
- Daily Occurrence (This is an uncommon selection.)
- Equation (This is an uncommon selection.)
- Figure
- Table
The default option is Figure. This option is appropriate for visuals such as graphs, charts, photos, illustrations, and maps.
Important Note: Each label type maintains its own number sequence. For example, if you have a Figure 1 and then insert a table, it will be Table 1.
5. Select the Position menu arrow.
6. Select the option you want from the Position drop-down menu:
- Above selected item
- Below selected item
The default option for Figure is Below selected item. The default option for Table is Above selected item. These defaults will be appropriate for most situations.
Optional Step: Change the Figure or Table Label
7. Select the New Label button to change the label Figure, Table, Equation, or Daily Occurrence.
8. Enter your new label in the text box in the New Label dialog box. (For this example, I am changing Figure to Fig.)
9. Select the OK button.
Optional Step: Change Figure or Table Numbering
Word Insert A Table Of Contents
10. Select the Numbering button to change how your figures or tables are numbered.
11. Select the Format menu arrow in the Caption Numbering dialog box to choose numerals, letters, or Roman numerals.
12. Check Include chapter number if you want your figure or table numbers to start with the chapter number.
Note that this option gives you additional control over which headings indicate the start of new chapters and which separator (period, hyphen, colon, or dash) appears between the numbers.
13. Select the OK button.
14. Type your caption or title after the label and number in the Caption text box.
Pro Tip: Most of our primary style guides recommend placing a period after the figure or table number. However, Word doesn't provide a way to add that period automatically, so remember to add it manually as you type each caption.
See 'How to Write Figure Captions' and 'How to Write Table Titles' for information on writing captions and titles according to Chicago style (including Turabian), APA style, and MLA style.
15. Select the OK button.
How To Insert Table Of Contents In Word 2016 Macro
Your caption or title will now appear with your figure or table.
16. Save your document to save your newly inserted figure captions or table titles.
Visit 'How to Change the Style of Table Titles and Figure Captions in Microsoft Word' for information about customizing the appearance (e.g., font, font size, color, alignment, etc.) of your titles and captions.
Related Resources
Your caption or title will now appear with your figure or table.
16. Save your document to save your newly inserted figure captions or table titles.
Visit 'How to Change the Style of Table Titles and Figure Captions in Microsoft Word' for information about customizing the appearance (e.g., font, font size, color, alignment, etc.) of your titles and captions.
Related Resources
In Office 2011 for Mac, Word features a fast, new way to make a Table of Contents (TOC). If you've been using Heading styles throughout your document, the process is entirely automatic. Choose to make a Table of Contents automatically; otherwise, select the Manual Formatting option.
Creating A Table Of Contents In Word
Follow these steps to make a TOC:
Click in the document where you want the TOC to appear.
In the Document Elements tab of the Ribbon, look in the Table of Contents group and click the tab at the bottom-center of the gallery.
Choose a TOC style from the Automatic Table of Contents group in the gallery.
* Choose Heading Styles if your document contains Heading styles.
* Choose Manual if your document does not contain Heading styles.
If you choose an Automatic option, based on the heading styles you used in the document, Word creates a quick TOC for you! If you choose the Manual option, Word guesses at your document's structure and presents you with a generic TOC based on your format choice from the gallery that you can customize manually.
How fast and easy is that? As long as your document is well-structured based on Heading styles, Word's TOC feature saves you a ton of work. But what if you want more TOC style choices? No problem! Select the entire TOC that you put into your document. In Word, choose Insert→Index and Tables, and then select the Table of Contents tab in the Index and Tables dialog that appears.
How To Insert Table Of Contents In Word 2016 Macros
Here you can choose from additional formatting options:
Formats: Shows built-in and your own custom TOC format styles.
Show Levels: Sets how many heading levels will be used in the TOC.
Show Page Numbers: This check box shows or hides page numbers.
Right Align Page Numbers: This check box aligns page numbers left or right.
Tab Leader: This pop-up menu offers more choices for the type of leader line that will be inserted between headings and page numbers.
Options button: This button opens the Table of Contents Options dialog.
With the Table of Contents dialog, you can manually map styles to TOC levels by typing in TOC level values in the fields to the right of the Available Styles list. You can determine which styles to make available:
Styles: Selecting this box allows you to choose from TOC styles from Normal.dotm and other open templates.
Table Entry Fields: Select this box to allow mapping of TOC Word field codes in your document to TOC levels in a TOC.
Modify:Available if you choose From Template in the Styles list.
