Figure and table captions, cross-references and a table of figures
Select the picture or table and go to References › Captions › Insert Caption (or right-click › Insert Caption). Pick the label (Figure, Table or a new one such as Chart) and the position. To cite it in the text, use References › Captions › Cross-reference › Only label and number. After moving figures, press Ctrl+A then F9 to update everything. The final list comes from Insert Table of Figures.
It happens every time: you add a picture in the middle of the report and the “Figure 4” you typed by hand should now be Figure 5, the sentence that said “see Figure 4” points at the wrong thing, and the list of figures matches nothing. You check everything by eye, and one always slips through.
Word has a tool built for exactly this: captions. A caption is the label “Figure 3. Process diagram” below a picture or above a table, with one twist: the number isn't typed, it's a counter Word recalculates, like the ticket numbers at a deli counter. On top of those counters sit cross-references (“as Figure 3 shows”) and the table of figures, your list of figures or tables. In this guide you set it all up and check that, when you move a figure, the document renumbers itself.
What you'll learn
- Insert automatic captions on pictures and tables, with the label you need (Figure, Table, Chart…)
- Number by chapter (Figure 3-1) and what that requires
- Cite a figure with a cross-reference that updates itself
- Create and update the table of figures, and format every caption through the Caption style
Step by step
Select the picture and insert a caption
Click the picture and go to References › Captions › Insert Caption. Faster: right-click the picture › Insert Caption…. The Caption window opens, and Word already suggests Figure 1. Type your text after the number (“Sales trend 2025”) and click OK.
That “1” isn't typed text: it's a SEQ field, a counter Word recalculates. Press Alt+F9 to see it from the inside, and again to come back.
Don't delete the number to type your own: the caption would stop being automatic.
Choose the label and position (or create your own label)
Under Label, Word ships Figure, Table and Equation. Each label keeps its own numbering. Need something else, such as Chart or Exhibit for a legal brief? Click New Label…, type the word and click OK: from now on it appears in the list and counts separately.
Under Position choose Below selected item for pictures and Above selected item for tables: that's the usual convention.
Don't mix labels in the same document (some pictures as Figure and others as Chart): you'll get two parallel sequences and two separate tables.
Caption tables and floating pictures
With a table it's identical: right-click any cell › Insert Caption…, label Table, position Above selected item. Word counts tables separately: Table 1, Table 2…
With a floating picture (any wrapping other than In Line with Text) Word can't place the caption as a normal paragraph, so it puts it in a text box next to the picture. It works, but if you drag the picture the box can get left behind. Select picture and box (click, then Ctrl+click) and group them with Picture Format › Arrange › Group, or keep the picture in line with text, the most stable choice in a report (pictures that stay put).
Number by chapter: Numbering › Include chapter number
Theses and manuals number figures Figure 3-1, Figure 3-2: chapter plus figure. In the Caption window click Numbering…, tick Include chapter number, set Chapter starts with style to Heading 1 and pick the separator. Click OK and Word renumbers every caption with that label.
Requirement: your headings must be numbered with a multilevel list linked to the heading styles (here's how). If you numbered them by hand, Word shows “Error! No text of specified style in document.” instead of the chapter.
Cite the figure with a cross-reference, never by hand
If you type “see Figure 3” and later insert a figure before it, that one becomes Figure 4 and your sentence is silently wrong. Put the cursor where the citation goes and open References › Captions › Cross-reference. Under Reference type pick the label (Figure, Table…); under Insert reference to, choose Only label and number for a clean “Figure 3”, or Page number for “on page 12”. Leave Insert as hyperlink ticked: with Ctrl+click the reader jumps to the figure. Pick the figure in the list and click Insert.
The window doesn't close by itself: insert several references in a row and close it when you're done.
Move a figure and update everything: Ctrl+A then F9
Try it: cut a figure with its caption and paste it before another one. When you insert a new caption, Word renumbers the others with that label; after moving one, and for the cross-references in your text, you have to ask: they're fields. Press Ctrl+A to select everything and then F9: Word recalculates references, page numbers and tables in one go. If it asks about the table of contents, choose Update entire table.
Always do this before sending or saving as PDF. Under File › Options › Display you can tick “Update fields before printing”.
Insert the table of figures
Put the cursor where you want the list (usually after the table of contents) and go to References › Captions › Insert Table of Figures. Under Caption label pick the label to list: Figure, Table or Chart. Each label produces its own table: if you need a list of figures and a list of tables, insert two, each with its own label. Leave Show page numbers and Right align page numbers ticked and click OK.
The heading (“List of Figures”) is yours to type above the table, with a heading style: Word doesn't add it.
Update the table whenever something changes
The table doesn't refresh on its own. Click inside it and press F9, or use References › Captions › Update Table. Word asks: Update page numbers only (if only the pagination changed) or Update entire table (if you added, removed or renamed figures). When in doubt, the entire table.
Don't fix text inside the table: the next update wipes it. Fix the figure's caption and update again.
Change the look of every caption through the Caption style
Every caption uses the Caption style: small, bold, bluish text. Don't tweak it figure by figure. Under Home › Styles open the Styles pane with the launcher in the corner of the group, find Caption, right-click › Modify… and change the font, color or alignment (centered is common). Click OK and every caption changes at once, including the ones you insert tomorrow.
If Caption isn't listed in the pane, click Options… at the bottom and set “Select styles to show” to All styles.
Expert tips
- Let the AI draft, you do the numbering. ChatGPT writes “Figure 1” as plain text. When you paste into Word, delete those labels and insert real captions: numbers and citations then look after themselves when you reorder.
- AutoCaption so you never forget. In the Caption window click AutoCaption… and tick Microsoft Word Table: every new table arrives with its caption already in place.
- It works for clauses too. The Cross-reference window also cites a Heading, a bookmark or a footnote. In a contract, “pursuant to clause 7.3” updates itself if you renumber the clauses.
- See what's a field and what's text. Under File › Options › Advanced, set Field shading to Always: anything automatic shows a gray background on screen (it doesn't print) and hand-typed “Figure 3” stands out instantly.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
You insert a new figure and the citations in the text keep the old number.
Cross-references are fields: select all (Ctrl+A) and press F9. If a citation doesn't change, you typed it by hand: delete it and insert it with References › Captions › Cross-reference.
After ticking “Include chapter number” an error appears instead of the number.
Your Heading 1 paragraphs aren't numbered with a multilevel list linked to the style. Apply one from Home › Paragraph › Multilevel List, then select all and press F9.
A figure is missing from the table of figures.
Check that its caption was created with Insert Caption and uses the same label as the table (a “Figure” table doesn't list “Chart” captions), then update the entire table. If the picture is floating and the caption ended up in a text box, try setting the picture to In Line with Text and inserting the caption again.
In Word for Mac the buttons live on the same References tab (Insert Caption, Cross-reference, Insert Table of Figures) and also in the Insert menu on the menu bar. Select all with ⌘+A and update fields with F9 (on many Macs, Fn+F9); the windows have the same names.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a label other than Figure, Table or Equation?
Yes. In the Caption window click New Label and type it: Chart, Exhibit, Map… Each label numbers separately, so pick one per kind of object and use it throughout.
Can I have the number without the word “Figure” in front?
Yes. In the Caption window tick Exclude label from caption: the automatic number stays and you type whatever you want in front of it.
Do cross-references survive saving as PDF?
Yes. If you left Insert as hyperlink ticked, the internal link is kept in the PDF and the citation stays clickable. Update the fields (Ctrl+A, F9) right before exporting.
Does this work in Word for the web?
Word for the web displays and preserves captions, references and tables that already exist, but it doesn't include the tools to insert them. Create them in desktop Word.
Official sources
Microsoft documentation consulted for this guide.
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