Cross-referencing to an Automatic Number

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 20, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Jennifer wonders if there is a way to cross reference only the number portion of a field-based number. For example, she wants to cross reference to a paragraph numbered 'Section 1.1', but have the cross reference display only the 1.1, not the word 'Section.'

This can be done by modifying the way you insert your cross-reference. Follow these general steps:

Position the insertion pointer where you want the cross-reference to appear.
Choose Cross-reference from the Insert menu. Word displays the Cross-reference dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Cross-reference dialog box.

Using the Reference Type drop-down list, choose Heading. (This assumes that your sections in your document are actually numbered headings.) Word displays a list of heading styles in the dialog box.
Select the footnote you want used for this reference.
Using the Insert Reference To drop-down list, choose Heading Number (no context).
Click Insert. The cross-reference is inserted, and it includes only the number.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6931) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Quickly Moving Text with the Mouse

Drag-and-drop editing is a handy feature when you love to use the mouse. There are two ways you can move text using the ...

Discover More

Using COUNTIF with Colors

Excel allows you to easily format cells with different fonts, borders, and colors. If you want to count the number of ...

Discover More

Creating Tent Cards

If you are planning a dinner party or a meeting where guests need to be seated at tables, you may want to create tent ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Inserting a Cross-Reference to Text

Cross-referencing is a great feature of Word that allows you to add references to text in various places of your ...

Discover More

Inserting Page Number Cross-References

Want to insert a dynamic cross-reference to a particular page number? It's easy to do following the steps in this tip.

Discover More

Setting Defaults in the Cross-reference Dialog Box

Some types of documents rely on cross-references quite a bit. Setting up the Cross-reference dialog box the first time in ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is five more than 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.