Cross-References

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Cross-References' topic. Click the article's title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

Condensing Figure Caption References
Word's cross-reference feature allows you to insert references to figure captions. If you need to reference multiple captions at once, this tip explains how to condense "Figure 1 to Figure 6" reference so it reads "Figures 1 to 6."

Controlling the Format of Cross-References
Cross references to captions can be very handy in certain types of documents. Word displays cross references to captions in the format that they originally appear. If you want to modify that format, this tip explains how to go about it.

Cross-Referencing to Line Numbers
Word provides no way to insert a cross-reference that returns a line number. This tip presents one possible workaround, using SEQ fields and bookmarks, but that would only be viable for small amounts of text.

Inserting a Cross-Reference to an Item in a List
When you create a list using the SEQ field, you may want to create a cross-reference to an item in that field. You can do this using a couple variations on the SEQ field itself.

Inserting a Cross-Reference to the First Style on a Page
If you want to create "dictionary style" headings in a document, it's a snap to do if you know how. Just format the document with styles and use the STYLEREF field in your header. Word takes care of automatically changing the header every time the referenced style changes.

Inserting a Cross-Reference to the Last Style on a Page
You can use field codes to return the last text on a page that is formatted with a particular style. This is very handy in putting together headers or footers for reference documents. This tip explains how to correctly use the STYLEREF field to achieve the desired results.

Making Live URLs Into Normal Text
Do active URLs in your document drive you crazy? There are a number of different ways you can change those linked URLs into regular text. This tip describes three of the fastest and most common methods.

Paragraph Numbers in Headers or Footers
The STYLEREF field is normally used to reference the text of the first or last paragraph on a page that is styled in a particular manner. You can also use the field to reference just the number of the paragraph, if it is numbered. This tip also presents a way to reference the numbers of manually numbered paragraphs.

Referencing a Page Number In Another Document
Using fields to referencing different pages in the same document is fairly straightforward. Referencing pages in documents other than the current one is a bit trickier, but this tip explains how to make short work of the task.

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 each Word session can be bothersome after a while. This tip explains how you can bypass the dialog-box bother altogether and simply input the fields on which cross-references are based.

Using Cross-References in Footnotes
Need to make a cross-reference from one footnote to another footnote? You can do it if you throw bookmarks into the mix, as described in this tip.

Using Multiple Reference to the Same Footnote
Do you want to have multiple footnote references to the same actual footnote in a document? The easiest way to do this is to use cross-references, as described in this tip.

Using Multiple References to a Single Comment
Find yourself repeating the same comment over and over? Here's a couple of ways you can save some typing by simply referring to the first instance of the comment you repeat.