Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Setting Defaults in the Cross-reference Dialog Box.

Setting Defaults in the Cross-reference Dialog Box

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 8, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Michael uses cross-references quite a bit. To do so, he displays the Cross-reference dialog box by choosing Insert | Reference | Cross-reference. Then, in the dialog box, he chooses Bookmark from the Reference Type drop-down, Page Number from the Insert Reference To drop-down, and clears the Insert as Hyperlink check box. These settings don't need to be chosen every time he displays the Cross-reference dialog box, but every time he starts a new session with Word. Making these initial changes to the dialog box gets a bit tiresome, so Michael was wondering if there was a way to specify defaults for the dialog box.

Unfortunately, there is not. A macro could easily be written to set the defaults, but you would need to open the dialog box through the use of the macro rather than the menus. An easier approach would be to just create your own cross-references, without the use of the menus at all.

The next time you insert a cross-reference, take a moment to look at it in your document. It is nothing but a field; if you select the cross-reference and then press Shift+F9, you can see the field code used by Word to implement the cross-reference. It should look something like this, where MyBookmark is the name of the bookmark being referenced:

{pageref MyBookmark}

You can create your own cross-reference by simply following these steps:

  1. At the location where you want the cross-reference, press Ctrl+F9 to insert a pair of field braces. The insertion point should be in the middle of the braces.
  2. Type pageref and a space.
  3. Type the name of the bookmark to be referenced.
  4. Press F9 to update the field.

That's it; it is very quick and easy, provided you know the name of the bookmark you want to reference. If you don't, then you can find the bookmark by pressing Shift+Ctrl+F5 to display the Bookmark dialog box. You can then select the bookmark, press Ctrl+C to copy the name, click Cancel (or press Esc) to dismiss the Bookmark dialog box, and then press Ctrl+V to paste the name of the bookmark into the field you are creating.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (373) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Setting Defaults in the Cross-reference Dialog Box.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Converting Numbers to Strings

When creating macros, it is often necessary to change from one type of data to another. Here's how you can change from a ...

Discover More

One Change Affects Everything

Have you ever made one formatting change in your document, only to see that change applied to all the paragraphs in the ...

Discover More

ScreenTips without Hyperlinks

ScreenTips can be a helpful feature in some documents but adding them also means you need to add a hyperlink. Here's a ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Cross-Referencing to Line Numbers

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do cross-referencing to line numbers within a document? Word doesn't have a built in ...

Discover More

Controlling the Format of Cross-References

When you use fields to add cross-references to tables or figures, Word normally takes care of formatting the words used ...

Discover More

Referencing a Page Number In Another Document

Page references are a common element of many documents. If you need to have a page reference to a page in a different ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is five more than 0?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.