Picture numbering in word

In Microsoft Word, figures mean all visual objects other than tables and equations. You can add or create figures using:

Note: Some publishers don’t use the term figure for maps (e.g., Chicago style).

Figures normally have the label Figure and a number followed by a caption. A caption is a short block of text that provides quick information about the figure:

  and  

Usually, figures have captions instead of titles. See how to create automatic numbers and titles for tables if you need to create titles instead of captions. See also:

• How to create captions and cross-references for equations,
• How to insert numbers, captions, and cutlines for photographs.

Note: You can create a custom label for some types of visual objects. See below how to do that. Remember that each type of object you label will be numbered sequentially within its group.

Attention! We highly recommend checking the formatting requirements, accepted by your college, university, company, or established on the project, etc.

Insert a caption for figures

To add automatically updated numbers and a short description (caption) for an object, select the object and do one of the following:

• On the References tab, in the Captions group, click the Insert Caption button:

  

• Right-click on the selection and select the Insert Caption… in the popup menu:

    or  
    or  
  

In the Caption dialog box:

If you are satisfied with the selected options, click the OK button. Otherwise, make any of the following optional actions:

Select the label and its position

• Under Options:
  • From the Label dropdown list, select the item type you need:

    

    • Figure (selected by default),
    • Equation – see how to create captions for equations,
    • Table – see how to create captions for tables,
    • Another label (in this example, My Caption) was created using the New Label… button (see how to create a new label below).

    Note: You may need to create a custom label according to the requirements. Some examples:

    1. If you have to follow the requirements such as the MLA (Modern Language Association) style, you need to use an abbreviation Fig. instead of a pre-defined Figure (e.g., “As shown in Fig. 7”).
    2. The Chicago style uses the word Example rather than Figure to identify samples of written music in a text (e.g., “As shown in Example 7”).

    Remember, each type of object you label will be numbered sequentially within its group.

  • From the Position dropdown list, select one of the options:

    

    • Below selected item (selected by default for the Figure label), or
    • Above selected item (selected by default for the Table label).

    Notes:

    1. The captions are usually located under the figures.
    2. Some requirements, such as the APA (American Psychological Association) style, recommend placing captions above figures.

Exclude label from caption

• Select the Exclude label from caption check box if you don’t need to add the label to the caption:

  

  Some requirements (MLA and Chicago styles) recommend using the lowercase word figure (if it is not the first word in the sentence) instead of the automatically added Figure in Word cross-references.

  When you insert a cross-reference in the text using the option Entire caption or Only label and number (see how to use cross-references in Word for more details), Word adds the capitalized label and number. You can see it in the Caption field of the Caption dialog box. E.g., “As shown in Figure 7” or “As shown in Figure 7 Masha in a new outfit”.

  If the Exclude label from caption option is checked, Word adds the number without the label to the cross-reference. So, you need to type the word figure in the text (as required) and insert a cross-reference without the label (e.g., “As shown in figure 7”).

Add a new label

• Click the New Label… button to create a new label:

  

  In the New Label dialog box, type a new label name:

  

Note: See also how to delete a custom label.

Modify caption numbering

• Click the Numbering… button if you want to change any of the numbering options:

  

  In the Caption Numbering dialog box:

  

  • In the Format dropdown list, select the numbering format you prefer:

  

  • Select the Include chapter number check box to include the chapter number in the figure caption number. If you select this option, two more options will appear:
    • From the Chapter starts with style dropdown list, select the heading level you need to include in the caption:

      

    • In the Use separator dropdown list, select the punctuation you want to insert between the chapter number and the figure number:

      

    • At the bottom of the dialog box, see how your choices will look in the Examples section. E.g., “Figure 2.7” means the seventh figure in chapter 2.
    • Click the OK button.

Add a description

• To add the text of your caption, click after the figure number and enter your text. E.g.:

  

  Notes:

  1. The caption is a short description of the object, indicating what it illustrates without reading anything else in the text.
  2. There is no official guideline for the length of this description. It may include additional information such as definitions of symbols, source citations, copyright statements, explanations of measurement units, etc.
  3. According to most requirements, if the caption for figures contains a complete sentence, it should end with a period. The period after the number is optional.

Using an AutoCaption

See Adding captions with AutoCaption.

Group a figure and its caption

According to all requirements, a figure and its caption should appear on the same page. Unfortunately, Word inserts captions without linking them to specific objects. A caption is like a separate paragraph that you can format to keep lines and paragraphs together, but this doesn’t help if you move an object. If you have a floating picture (pictures with the wrapping text options), you can see that paragraph with a caption moves separately from the picture.

To move objects with their caption as a single block, you need to group them. To group a figure and its caption, do the following:

   1.   Select the figure.

   2.   Make sure one of the With Text Wrapping choices is selected (see Text wrapping in the Word document):

Note: Word groups with text only floating objects. So, you should do this step before you insert your caption. If you have a caption already, copy its text to the Clipboard, delete it, do this step, then re-add a caption.

   3.   Add a caption using the steps of the section Insert a caption for figures above.

   4.   Select a caption, then hold down the Shift key and select the figure:

   5.   Do one of the following:

• On the Shape Format tab, in the Arrange group, click the Group command:

  

• Right-click one of the objects and choose Group -> Group from the popup menu:

  

Word puts a single box around the objects instead of separate boxes around each object:

After these steps, a text should flow around the figure and its caption, like one block. Also, the figure and its caption will stay together if you move them elsewhere on the page or document.

Edit or modify a caption

Microsoft Word creates caption numbers as fields.

See how to turn on or turn off highlighting of fields in a Word document to display all fields in a document with a gray background.

• Labels:

  You can change the label if necessary. Be careful! Word for Microsoft 365 will:

  • Update the reference if available,
  • Not create a separate numbering since it does not perceive changes as a new label.
• Numbers:

  DO NOT edit caption numbers! If you change a number:

  • For non-critical changes, Word will update it, and you will lose your changes,
  • Otherwise, the caption number may stop updating automatically.
• Text:

  To add or modify a caption text, click on it and change what you need, like in a regular paragraph.

Do not forget to format a caption according to the requirements you use!

Delete a caption and an unnecessary label

If you need to remove some caption, select the full caption (full line or several lines) and press Delete. Do not forget to update fields in the document!

To remove the unnecessary label, do the following:

   1.   Open the Caption dialog box.

   2.   In the Label dropdown list, select the label you want to remove.

   3.   Click the Delete Label to remove a custom label:

Note: You can’t delete pre-defined labels: Equation, Figure, and Table.

Update caption numbering

Word doesn’t always keep up with changes in a document. Word automatically updates the caption numbers when you insert a new caption. After deleting or moving a caption, you should manually update a captions numbering.

To update fields in the document, select the entire document by clicking Ctrl+A, and do one of the following:

• Press F9,
• Right-click on any of the fields and select Update Field in the popup menu:

  

Note: Word doesn’t update a numbering in text boxes as in shapes! So, if you have floating pictures, their numbering doesn’t be updated until:

• You select every text box one-by-one and update numbering in each of them,
• Use a macro to update all fields (we don’t recommend macros due to security reasons),
• Update all fields by using the following workaround:

     1.   On the File tab, click the Options button:

  

     2.   In the Word Options dialog box, on the Display tab, under Printing options, select the Update fields before printing check box, then click OK to close the dialog box:

  

     3.   On the File tab, click Print (or press Ctrl+P):

  

  You don’t need to print the document – only tell Word that you want to print!

     4.   Return to the document view by clicking the Return button:

  

  All fields in the document should be updated.

  So, your captions will be automatically updated, and you can be sure that the numbering and references are correct. We strongly recommend checking a document at least visually after changes!

Figure 1: To have Word magically number your figures for you

1. Type the name of the figure.
2. Click in front of the name of the figure.
3. In Insert menu on top of screen, select Caption.
4. Under Options: Label, select Figure.
5. Click OK.
6. Add a space and/or a colon if necessary. Be tidy and consistent.

How do you automatically number tables and figures in Word?

On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Numbering. Note: To select a different number format, right-click a number in the list, point to Numbering, click Define New Number Format, and then select the options that you want.

How do you add figure numbers?

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.

How do you automatically update figure numbers in Word?

Instead of searching and replacing all the figure numbers in the text, click “Edit” -> “Select All” (or, Ctrl + A), which select the entire document, then, press “F9”. This updates all the figure number automatically.

How do I manually change figure numbers in Word?

Changing Caption Numbering Styles

1. Display the References tab of the ribbon.
2. Click the Insert Caption tool, in the Captions group.
3. Click on the Numbering button.
4. Using the Format drop-down list, choose the format you want used for your caption numbers.
5. Click on OK to close the Caption Numbering dialog box.

How do you annotate a figure in Word?

To annotate an image in Word, insert the image in a document, then draw a shape over the image.

1. Go to the Insert tab and select Pictures.
2. In the Insert Picture dialog box, select the file folder that contains the image.
3. Choose the image, then select Insert.

How do you add numbers to shapes in Word?

To add a shape, click Insert, click Shapes, select a shape, and then click and drag to draw the shape. After you add one or more shapes, you can add text, bullets, and numbering to them, and you can change their fill, outline, and other effects on the Format tab.

How do I insert a numbered circle in Word?

You simply use Insert –>Shapes, select the circle shape, type a number inside the circle, and then drop the circle on top off the picture where you want to showcase something.

How do I update figure numbers in Word 2016?

Update caption numbers

1. Click anywhere in the document and press CTRL+A to select the entire document.
2. Right-click, and then choose Update Field on the shortcut menu. All of the captions in the document should now be updated.

What does F9 do in Word?

F9. F9: Update a field. This is the same as right-clicking a field and choosing the “Update Field” command.

How do I change my figure number?

Place your cursor in front of ANY automated caption number for ANY figure. Go to the References tab and click Insert Caption to open the Caption dialog box. Change the Label to Figure. Click Numbering to open the Caption Numbering dialog box.

How do I reset figure numbers in Word?

1 Answer

1. Select the number in the caption you want to start the custom numbering at.
2. Right-click and choose “Edit Field…”.
3. Click the Options button.
4. Choose the Field Specific Switches tab.
5. Select the r switch, and click Add To Field.
6. Type the number desired to restart the caption numbering after the r .

How do you reference figures?

The citation would normally be given after the title of the figure, table, diagram, etc.

1. Example: Figure 1, A four pointed star (Jones, 2015, p. 54).
2. Example: (Jones, 2015, p.33)
3. Example:
4. Example: (United Nations, 1975, cited in Smith, 2016, p.33)

How do you use bookmarks in Word?

Bookmark the location

1. Select text, a picture, or a place in your document where you want to insert a bookmark.
2. Click Insert > Bookmark.
3. Under Bookmark name, type a name and click Add. Note: Bookmark names need to begin with a letter. They can include both numbers and letters, but not spaces.

How do you reference a figure in text?

All figures and tables must be mentioned in the text (a “callout”) by their number. Do not refer to the table/figure using either “the table above” or “the figure below.” Assign table/figure # in the order as it appears, numbered consecutively, in your paper – not the figure # assigned to it in its original resource.

How do I annotate a PNG?

How to annotate PNG documents online

1. Click inside the file drop area to upload a PNG file or drag & drop a PNG file.
2. File will be automatically rendered for you to view instantly.
3. Scroll down to navigate between pages.
4. Add annotations to the document.
5. Download the annotated version of your PNG file.

How do you annotate an image?

For annotating an object, simply hover over the object in the selected image, click and drag to create a rectangular box of the intended size. After creating the bounding box, a new entry is added under Bounding Box column on the right. Click to select desired label for the object.

How do you annotate a painting?

Using annotation

1. analyse the work of an inspirational artist or designer.
2. record a technique.
3. record ideas.
4. explain the thinking behind an idea.
5. analyse the success of a technique, idea or composition.
6. explain how a particular artist or designer’s style or technique has influenced your work.

To add the shape, do the following:

1. Open the footer by double-clicking the footer area. In Word 2003, choose Header and Footer from the View menu.
2. While in the header, click the Insert tab.
3. Click inside the footer and drag to create the shape.
4. With the shape inserted, use the contextual Format tab to format the shape.

How do you draw shapes in Word?

Click in your document where you want to create the drawing. On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Shapes.
Add a drawing to a document

1. Insert a shape.
2. Change a shape.
3. Add text to a shape.
4. Group selected shapes.
5. Draw in the document.
6. Adjust the size of the shapes.

How do I apply a shape style in Word?

To change the shape style:

1. Select the shape you want to change.
2. On the Format tab, click the More drop-down arrow in the Shape Styles group.
3. A drop-down menu of styles will appear. Select the style you want to use.
4. The shape will appear in the selected style.

If you want to make an intuitive reference to an image, you can insert a caption. You can quickly add a caption to a picture or photo in Word by using the Insert Caption function. Word will automatically number your captions of tables or figures. However, sometimes the caption numbering of the figure is incorrect in your Word document and not sequential, which can be a problem. You will find out that figure caption numbers do not show in the correct order. This article will show you how to insert a figure caption in Word and explain how the numbering works. Read about the solutions to fix the wrong numbering in figure captions.

How to insert a caption in Word

Open your Word document and add an image. You can add a caption to a picture by following the steps below.

• Right-click on the image
• Selection opens up > Click on Insert Caption > The Caption dialog box opens up

Or you can use the method below:

1. Go to the References tab
2. Click on the Insert Caption icon > The Caption dialog box opens up

Create a new label

In the Caption dialog box, you can choose from three different labels. A label is a text that appears before the picture numbering, which you can select by default, such as Equation, Figure, or Table. Note that these labels differ when you change your language settings in Word.

There is also an option to create a new label yourself. Click on New Label in the Caption dialog box underneath > This will open a new box called New Label where you can write your customized Label > Lastly, click OK.

In our example below, we have used the word Photo.

Once you have made your new label and clicked the OK button, you will automatically return to the Caption dialog box. Here, you will find the customized word (e.g., Photo) under Caption and the Label selection. You have to click OK in the Caption dialog box to confirm the changes.

Figure caption numbering incorrect due to errors in Seq field

Sometimes the captions don’t follow the same order even though the numbering under the figure is correct. This is because when you add a caption to a picture, photo, figure, and other items in Word, it automatically sets the identifier in a Seq field.

{ SEQ Identifier }

Seq stands for sequence, and it numbers the captions. For more details on Seq fields, read the Microsoft article about Fields codes: Sequence field.

When you insert captions via References > Insert Caption, Word sets the Seq field equal to the label you have selected. You can view the field code in the Seq fields and other types of fields. Turn the field code display on by pressing Alt + F9. It will look like the example below.

{ SEQ Figure * ARABIC } 

All the Seq fields with the same identifier count as one series of consecutive numbers. Therefore, every time you add, delete or change an item with its Seq field, you must update the remaining items with its Seq fields to maintain a new sequence.

Remember that you will only see a Seq field if you add a caption to a picture or photo via References > Insert Caption in Word. If you add a caption manually, you will not get automatic numbering, and there is no Seq field. So a caption with the identifier Figure could look like the example below.

Figure { SEQ Figure * ARABIC }  

If you have copied content with captions from another document, the captions may not use the same identifier or label. The same problem happens if you create Seq fields manually in Word. For example, some captions use Figure as an identifier, while others use Table as an identifier. In this case, you will have two different series of captions that count separately, e.g., one numbering for Figure and another numbering for Table.

Solution of wrong figure caption numbering in Seq field

There is no problem with the caption itself, but sometimes Word won’t let you delete the label or numbering in the caption. You can fix the wrong figure caption numbering in the Seq field.

In our example below, we have inserted four different captions without any pictures. Insert a figure caption in Word > Go to References > Insert Caption > Write your caption and click OK. Unfortunately, the order of the captions is wrong. If you change it manually, the automatic numbering will not work anymore. Follow the steps below to see how you can change it.

Step 1 – The numbering of the captions is incorrect in the below picture. It states Figure 1-2-1-3 instead of Figure 1-2-3-4.

Step 2 – Display the Seq field codes by pressing Alt + F9. Now, you should be able to see the Seq fields of all the captions. However, as you can see below, the third identifier of the Seq Field looks different from the others as it states SEQ Figur instead of SEQ Figure. It can occur when you copy a caption from another document or write captions manually.

Step 3 – Now, you should change the Seq field of the third caption. You can do this by copying the Seq field of the correct figure caption and past it instead of the third caption. Or you can correct it by writing the same Seq field as the other figure. Now the Seq field will look all the same.

Step 4 – Once you correct the Seq fields, you should press Alt + F9 to return. There is a chance that the order of the caption is still incorrect, like in the left picture. It is because you have not updated the captions.

• You can do this by selecting all the captions > Press Alt + A
• Then update the numbering of the captions > Press Alt + F9

Now the numbering of the caption figure should look like the right picture below.

If you did not fix the correct order of the caption numbering, please read about the following problem to find the solution.

Problem caption number for figures incorrect

If you have two pictures next to each other, you may want to label them correctly to make the readers understand. However, even if you start to label your pictures in the correct order, the automatic caption number for each picture shifts.

In our example, we will start to insert a caption for the left picture in Word.

1. Go to the References tab
2. Click on Insert Caption > The Caption dialog box opens
3. The caption automatically states Figure 1 > Now you can write a caption > Click OK
4. The caption under the picture looks correct

Let’s say you want to add a caption to the right photo in your Word document, as Figure 2.

1. First, click on the right picture where you want to enter the caption > Go to the References tab
2. Click on the Insert Caption button
3. The Caption dialog box opens up, but the figure numbering is wrong.

For example, in the picture below, you can see that it automatically states Figure 1 in the Caption dialog box. Also, the left picture automatically changes from Figure 1 to Figure 2. But why is this happening?

Check if a picture is in line with text or with text wrapping

The problem occurs when you have pictures set With Text Wrapping. For example, let’s say that you have two images next to each other, and one of them is set something else than In Line With Text. In this case, each caption ends up in a text box. The right picture in the example below is set with text wrapping. You can check that by clicking on the picture or text box underneath it once. Now an icon called Layout Options appears. Click on the icon to see which layout you have selected for this particular picture.

You can also check it in the Picture Tools tab when you click on the picture. Finally, in the ribbon, you can either click on Position or Wrap Text, which will give you the same options.

Once you add a caption to a picture set with text wrapping in Word, the figure caption numbering becomes incorrect. The numbering of the captions depends on the positions of the text box anchors, which will be explained later. Read further to understand how to insert a caption of a figure in Word with the correct method.

Solution for figure caption numbering incorrect due to With Text Wrapping

Follow the steps below to fix the wrong order due to Pictures With Text Wrapping. You already know how to insert a caption of a figure in a Word document. For this example, we have inserted four pictures in a Word document with incorrect figure caption numbering.

• Go to the Home tab
• Press the ¶ button under the Paragraphs group. It displays object anchors as well as other non-printing marks.
• Or use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + 8

Sometimes you will not see the object anchors immediately. It is because you have not clicked inside the text box under the picture.

• Click inside a caption to see its anchor. See the below picture for further illustration.

• Now click and drag the anchor so that it appears in the correct sequence.
  • Click on an anchor and move it downwards if you want the numbering to come in second.
  • Click on an anchor and move it upwards if you want the numbering to be first.

Sometimes you have to bring the anchor to the end of the document to change its caption numbering. Look at the picture below to see how to drag the anchor icon down. Please check the location of the anchor for the individual text fields with incorrect numbers. Then, please do the same steps for figure 3 and drag its anchor down.

The caption numbering does not always change immediately, but that is not a problem. Read the following steps to see how to update the caption numbering in your Word document.

• Update the caption numbers by switching to Print Preview > Use the shortcut Ctrl + F2 or shortcut Ctrl + P. Now you will see the correct order of your captions on the right side.
• Then go back to the current view by clicking on the arrow in the upper left corner > Use the Esc button.

These problems do not occur if your pictures are In Line With Text in Word, and therefore it is the safest way to add a caption to a picture. There is no need to move the anchors anymore.

Conclusion

You have learned how to insert a caption of a figure in Word. However, sometimes the figure caption numbering is incorrect in Word. If you have pictures set with text wrapping, there is a high chance of having the wrong order numbering in your captions. It could also be due to the wrong identifier in the Seq field, which can easily be changed manually. Now, you can add a caption to a photo in Word using the correct method.

If you create long Word documents with lots of captioned diagrams, tables, or figures in them, then you may be faced with the nightmare of having to update the numbering whenever you add a new figure or table to the document. And if you refer to this number within the text (e.g. “See Table 4”), that’s another place you have to remember to keep up to date.

You can automate this process—and produce automated Tables of Figures as well, just like an automated Table of Contents.

These instructions apply to any captioned tables, figures and diagrams. I will use ‘figure’ to refer to each of them—if you are creating table captions and a list of tables, substitute ‘table’ and choose the ‘Table’ option in the steps below instead of ‘Figure’.

Labeling a figure in Word

1. Position your cursor beneath the figure.
2. Open the Caption window:
   * Word 2003: Select Insert > Reference > Caption from the menu.
   * Word 2007 and later: Go to the References tab > Captions command group, then click Insert Caption.
3. Select Figure from the Label drop-down list.

   

   Caption – default settings for Figure

4. Optional: If you use headings with Outline Numbering, you may want to add a Chapter number. To do so, click Numbering and select the Include chapter number check box. You can also specify the number format, style, and separator.

   

   Caption with chapter numbering included

   

   Caption settings for chapter numbering

5. Add any extra caption information after the caption number (e.g. Figure 3: xxxx).

   

   Caption complete

6. Click OK.

The caption is added, using the Caption style (you can modify this default style on the Styles and Formatting task pane in Word 2003, or the Styles floating window in Word 2007 or later). The number is automatically sequenced even if you add another figure between two existing figures with captions inserted like this.

NOTE: If the number doesn’t update automatically, or if you’ve copied an earlier caption and pasted it in another place then modified the caption’s text, update the field by selecting it and pressing F9. Update ALL the auto captions [and all other fields such as the TOC, List of Figures etc.] by pressing Ctrl+A, then F9.

Referring to a figure in the body text

The caption must exist (see above)—you can’t reference something that isn’t there.

1. In the body text, place the cursor when you want the cross-reference text to be inserted.
2. To insert a cross reference:
   * Word 2003: Select Insert > Reference > Cross-Reference from the menu.
   * Word 2007 and later: Go to the References tab > Captions command group, then click Cross-reference.
3. Select Figure from the Reference Type drop-down list. All figures that have been inserted as a caption are listed in the bottom half.

   

   Cross-reference settings

4. Click once on the figure that you want to refer to.
5. In the Insert reference to drop-down list, select how you want the information displayed (e.g. select Only label and number to just display “Figure x” and not the entire caption; select Entire caption to display “Figure x: yyyyyy”).
6. Click Insert, then click Close. The reference is added to the document—if you click in it, you should notice the gray shading indicating that it’s a field.

   

   The cross-reference is inserted as a field

Creating the Table of Figures

1. Position the cursor where you want the Table of Figures to be placed (it usually goes immediately after the Table of Contents).
2. Insert the Table of Figures:
   * Word 2003: Select Insert > Reference > Index and Tables from the menu.
   * Word 2007 and later: Go to the References tab > Captions command group, then click Insert Table of Figures.
3. Click on the Table of Figures tab, if it’s not already selected.
4. From the Caption Label drop-down list, select the type of table you want to create—Figure in this example.

   

   Table of Figures settings

5. Make any other changes as required.
6. Click OK.
7. Add a title (e.g. List of Figures) above the list just like you do for Contents.

   

   A table of figures

Update February 2012: Really long captions: Several people have asked questions in the comments about dealing with really long captions, and there have been some excellent suggestions. Take a look at the comments from March 29, 2010, June/July 2011, and especially August 8, 2011 — one of these may solve your problem.

See also:

• Table and figure numbering: https://cybertext.wordpress.com/2009/04/28/table-and-figure-numbering/

[This article was first published in the March 2003 CyberText Newsletter; steps last checked and updated for Word 2007, 21 August 2008; screen shots added February 2009]