Hello, my name is Erin.
This tutorial shows how to insert figure captions and table titles in Microsoft Word.
We will also look at how to create two-line table titles and figure captions
that will appear as one line in the list of tables or figures.
I will be using Word for Microsoft 365.
These steps also apply to Word for Mac and the single-purchase versions of the software back to Word 2013.
To begin inserting a table title, hover your pointer over the table
and then select the handle that appears on the top, left corner to select the entire table.
Then, right-click the table on a PC or Control-click the table on a Mac
and select Insert Caption from the shortcut menu.
To begin inserting a figure caption, simply right-click or control click the figure near the outside border
and then select Insert Caption from the shortcut menu.
Alternatively, you can select the table or figure,
select the References tab,
and then select the Insert Caption button.
When the Caption dialog box appears, select Figure or Table from the Label menu.
It is important to note that 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.
Next, select Above selected item or Below selection item from the Position menu.
If you want to customize the figure or table label, select the New Label button.
And then enter your new label in the text box in the New Label dialog box.
For example, I am going to change Figure to Fig.
When you’re finished, select the OK button.
If you want to change how your figures or tables are numbered,
select the Numbering button on a PC
or the Format button on a Mac.
Then, select numerals, letters, or Roman numerals from the Format menu in the Caption Numbering dialog box.
If you have already added heading numbers to your document,
select Include chapter number to start with the chapter or section number.
However, please note that this option won't work if you haven’t established heading numbers previously.
Next, select the OK button.
Now, type your caption or title after the label and number in the Caption text box.
Word doesn’t insert a period after the number,
so if you want to include a period remember to add it manually as you type each title or caption.
Finally, select the OK button.
Your caption or title will now appear with your figure or table.
Now we are going to look at how to place the label and the title or caption on two separate lines,
but format them in such a way that they will still appear on one line in the list of tables or figures,
as shown in my previous tutorial, “How to Create and Update a List of Tables or Figures in Microsoft Word.”
Although not necessary, I am going to select the Show/Hide button in the Home tab
so we can see the formatting marks as we work through this process.
To begin, insert your figure caption or table title as we did in the previous section.
Then, place your cursor at the start of the title or caption
and then press the Backspace key on a PC
or Delete key on a Mac to remove any extra spaces between the number and the title or caption.
Next, press Shift + Enter on a PC
or Shift + Return on a Mac to create a soft return instead of a regular hard return.
The label and title or caption should now appear on two different lines.
However, when you create or update your list of tables or figures later on,
it should appear on one line.
Before we close, note that title and caption numbers won’t automatically update
if you move or delete tables or figures in your document.
Please see my previous tutorial “How to Update Table and Figure Numbers in Microsoft Word"
for information about manually updating those numbers.
And, for even more Word tutorials, please see my playlist “How to Use Microsoft Word”
which is linked in the description box below along with my website erinwrightwriting.com,
which shows all the steps we just performed with images.
Feel free to leave me a comment if there’s a specific topic that you would like me to talk about in the future.
And please subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss upcoming tutorials.
And give this video a thumbs-up if you found it helpful.
Thank you so much for watching!
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