Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Insert Figure Captions and Table Titles in Microsoft Word

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This tutorial shows how to insert figure captions and table titles in Microsoft Word.

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.

Are you looking for information about how to insert tables and charts? Visit “Three Ways to Insert Tables in Microsoft Word” and “How to Create and Customize Charts in Microsoft Word“

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 available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 150 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. The steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.

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.

Option to insert figure and table captions in Microsoft Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 1. Insert Caption

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.

Label menu arrow in the Caption dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 2. Label menu arrow

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.

Label menu in the Caption dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 3. Label menu

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.

Position menu arrow in Caption dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 4. 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.

Position menu in the Caption dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 5. Position menu

Optional Step: Change the Figure or Table Label

7. Select the New Label button to change the label Figure, Table, Equation, or Daily Occurrence.

New Label button in the Caption dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 6. New Label button

8. Enter your new label in the text box in the New Label dialog box. (For this example, I am changing Figure to Fig.)

Label text box in the New Label dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 7. New Label text box

9. Select the OK button.

OK button in the New Label dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 8. OK button

Optional Step: Change Figure or Table Numbering

10. Select the Numbering button to change how your figures or tables are numbered.

Numbering button in the Caption dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 9. Numbering button

11. Select the Format menu arrow in the Caption Numbering dialog box to choose numerals, letters, or Roman numerals.

Format menu in the Caption Numbering dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 10. Numbering format menu

12. If you have already added heading numbers, check Include chapter number to start with the chapter or section number. (This option won’t work if you don’t have established heading numbers.)

Note that this option gives you additional control over which headings indicate the start of new chapters or sections and which separator (period, hyphen, colon, or dash) appears between the numbers.

For more information, please see “How to Add Heading Numbers to Table Titles and Figure Captions in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac).”

"Include chapter number" checkbox in the Caption Numbering dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 11. “Include chapter number” checkbox

13. Select the OK button.

OK button in the Caption Numbering dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 12. OK button

14. Type your caption or title after the label and number in the Caption text box.

Caption text box in the Caption dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 13. 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.

OK button in the Caption dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365
Figure 14. OK button

Your caption or title will now appear with your figure or table.

Sample figure with caption
Figure 15. Sample figure with caption

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

How to Reference Tables and Figures in Text

How to Create and Customize Headings in Microsoft Word

How to Create and Update a List of Tables or Figures in Microsoft Word

How to Insert and Modify Images in Microsoft Word

Updated July 24, 2022