Different Table Captions on Multiple Pages

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 13, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Chuck has some long tables in his documents, and he would like the table caption to be different for the second and subsequent pages on which the table occurs. For instance, he would like to have the caption on the first page of the table be something like "Table 1 Results" and for the other pages be something like "Table 1 Results (continued)".

The short answer is that Word doesn't allow you to have different captions when the table extends to multiple pages. One obvious solution is to break your table into two—one part for the first page and another for subsequent pages. You could then add multiple captions for the tables. This will only work if your page layout is static (you won't be adding any more text before the table). It can also mess up any "table of tables" that you may add to your document, as you would have two captions for what is essentially the same table.

Another possible workaround is to follow these general steps:

Put the continuation text (such as "continued" within parentheses) into the caption.
Anchor an opaque text box or a drawing rectangle to the paragraph immediately preceding the table and lock the anchor in place. (You need the anchor to remain outside the table, locked to that preceding paragraph.)
Drag the text box or rectangle over the continuation text in the caption and size it to cover only that text. This will hide the text on the first page of the table but not on subsequent pages.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (3417) 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

Changing between English Variants

What is the easiest way to switch between English spelling variants in a document? This tip examines a couple of ways you ...

Discover More

Resetting Ribbons

Word allows you to customize the program's ribbon tabs so they more closely match the way you want to work. At some ...

Discover More

Telling which Worksheets are Selected

If your macro processes information on a number of worksheets, chances are good that you need your macro to figure out ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Deleting a Table

Tired of that old table taking up space in your document? You can get rid of it using a variety of techniques—some ...

Discover More

Differing Column Widths when Pasting

When you move information from one table to another, you may be faced with the problem of making that information fit ...

Discover More

Setting Consistent Column Widths in Multiple Tables

Tables are great for organizing and presenting information in a document. If you have a document containing multiple ...

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 six less than 6?

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.