WD: Changing One Caption Label Changes All Matching Captions

ID: Q144939

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a and 6.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

When you modify the label for one caption, other captions that use the same label are also modified. In addition, if you change the numbering format, all related captions are also changed to reflect the new numbering format.

For example, if you have the following captions in your document,

   Table 1
   Table 2

if you select the "Table 2" caption, and then click Insert menu and click Caption, and then change the label in the Caption dialog to "Figure," (without the quotation marks) the "Table 1" caption also changes.

CAUSE

By design, the fields that generate the caption numbering are recalculated when you add or change a caption.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, manually modify both the label and the SEQ field instead of using the Caption command (Insert menu). To do this, press SHIFT+F9 (OPTION+F9 on the Macintosh) to toggle field codes view on. The caption label and SEQ field look like this:

   Table {SEQ Table \* ARABIC}

To change the caption label and SEQ field to specify a Figure and to use Lower-case roman numerals, change the field so that it looks like this:

   Figure {SEQ Figure \* roman)

MORE INFORMATION

The caption label and SEQ field use the following syntax:

   Label Name {SEQ Identifier [Switches]}

Label Name represents the label you specify for your caption, for example, Table, Figure, Equation, and so on. SEQ is the Sequence field name. The Identifier is a unique name that you assign to a series of items to number. The Switches are optional and allow you to specify the type of numbering format. The following switches are available:

   Switch              Number Format
   ------              -------------
   \*ARABIC            1, 2, 3...
   \*ROMAN             I, II, III...
   \*roman             i, ii, iii...
   \*ALPHABETIC        A, B, C...
   \*alphabetic        a, b, c...

Additional query words: 8.0 8.00

Keywords          : kbualink97 kbfield macword98 winword ntword macword 
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; MACINTOSH: 98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: January 22, 1999