Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Automatically Adding Captions.

Automatically Adding Captions

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 9, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Captions are often used in magazine and book publishing around specific items, such as figures or tables. For instance, you may want to include a caption for all your tables that says "Table" and then a number for the table, as in "Table 3." Word can automate this task for you by adding captions whenever you insert a table or some other object in your document.

To configure Word so it automatically adds captions, follow these steps:

Display the References tab of the ribbon.
Click the Insert Caption tool in the Captions group. Word displays the Caption dialog box.
Click on the AutoCaption button. Word displays the AutoCaption dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The AutoCaption dialog box.

Search through the list of objects, placing a checkmark beside the one with which you want Word to automatically use captions. For instance, choose Microsoft Word Table if you want a caption associated with your tables.
Using the Use Label drop-down list, specify the word you want to appear at the beginning of the caption.
Using the Position drop-down list, specify where you want the caption to appear in relation to the object.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13182) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Automatically Adding Captions.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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What is 9 - 1?

2021-01-11 12:14:41

Jen M.

Thanks, this tip on auto captions was worth its weight in gold. I co-author a lot of lengthy reports, and the other authors don't understand how to format captions. This will save us all a ton of time. I just updated my templates. Thank you!!!

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