WD2000: General Information About Cross-reference Fields

This article describes what cross-references are, how to create them, how to edit them, and how to update them.

What Is a Cross-reference?

The cross-reference feature in Word lets you create a reference to another item in the same document or in another document when you are using a master document. For example, a cross-reference to a table in another part of a document might look like this: "See Table 6." Cross-reference fields are inserted as hyperlinks by default. When you click the cross-reference field, Word automatically scrolls to the location of the referenced item.

NOTE: To insert a cross-reference, click the Insert menu and then click Cross-reference.

If the caption number of the cross-referenced item changes, Word keeps track of the changes and updates the cross-reference to reflect the new number or location. For example, if you add an additional table to your document and Table 6 becomes Table 7, you can update the cross-reference field without inserting a new field or retyping the information.

You can include additional details, such as the page number of the item, by inserting a second cross-reference field. For example, by using two cross-reference fields, you can create the following:

What You See in the Cross-reference Dialog Box

This section defines the items that you see when you click Cross-reference on the Insert menu.

Reference Type

From the Reference type list, you can select the type of item that you want to cross-reference. You can cross-reference the following items:

Insert Reference To

In the Insert reference to list, you can identify the information that you want to appear in the cross-reference. The choices that are available depend on your selection in the Reference type list. All of the possible choices are listed in the following table. NOTE 1: For footnotes and endnotes, the page number that appears in the cross-reference is the location of the footnote or endnote text, not the location of the note reference mark.

NOTE 2: For more information about the "Full Context" and "No Context" options for Heading and Paragraph, see the "More About Paragraph Number and Heading Number" section later in this article.

Insert As Hyperlink

By default, Word inserts a cross-reference as a hyperlink to the cross-referenced item. When you click the cross-reference, Word automatically scrolls to the item that is referenced. To turn off Insert as hyperlink, click to clear the check box.

More About Paragraph Number and Heading Number

This section describes the three different types of paragraph number and heading number references that you can insert from the Insert reference to list.

Paragraph Number and Heading Number

Displays the paragraph number or heading number and its relative position in an outline numbered list.

Example 1:

A cross-reference in 1.(a)(i) to paragraph 1.(a)(ii) appears as "(ii)" because both paragraphs are under 1.(a). Example 2:

A cross-reference in 2.(a)(i) to 1.(a)(i) appears as "1.(a)(i)" because no context is shared between the paragraphs; that is, they are in completely different sections.

Paragraph Number (No Context) and Heading Number (No Context)

Displays the paragraph number or heading number without its relative position in the outline numbered list.

For example, a cross-reference in Paragraph 2.(a)(i) to paragraph 1.(a)(ii) appears as "(ii)", regardless of the context of the reference.

Paragraph Number (Full Context) and Heading Number (Full Context)

Displays the complete paragraph number or heading number from anywhere in the document.

For example, a cross-reference from anywhere in a document to paragraph 1.(a)(ii) appears as "1.(a)(ii)" in the cross-reference. NOTE: This is similar to the way that WordPerfect versions 6.1 and earlier create cross-references.

How to Create a Cross-reference in the Same Document

To create a cross-reference to an item in the current document, follow these steps.

NOTE: For this example, your document must contain at least one of the following: a table with a caption, a footnote, an endnote, an equation with a caption, a bookmark, a figure with a caption, or a paragraph that is formatted with a heading or a numbering style.

1. In the document, type the introductory text that begins the cross-reference. For example, type For more information, see:
2. On the Insert menu, click Cross-reference.
3. In the Reference type list, click the type of item that you want to refer to (for example, a Heading or Table).
4. In the Insert reference to list, click the information that you want to insert into the document (for example, click Heading Text).
5. In the For which Reference Type list, click the specific item that you want to refer to. For example, if you click Heading in the Reference type box, and the document has six headings, click the heading that you want to refer to.
6. Click Insert and then click Close.

NOTE: If you see an entry that looks similar to {REF _Ref249586 \* MERGEFORMAT} instead of the cross-reference text, Word is displaying field codes instead of the field results. To see the field results, press ALT+F9.

How to Create a Cross-reference to Sub Documents in Master Documents

You can reference items in other documents if both documents are sub documents in the same master document. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open the master document that contains both subdocuments.
2. Click the Expand Subdocuments button on the Outline toolbar.
3. On the View menu, click Normal.
4. Follow the steps outlined in the "How to Create a Cross-reference in the Same Document" section earlier in this article.

For additional information about master documents and using cross-references in master documents, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to Edit a Cross-reference

You can edit an existing cross-reference by selecting it and inserting a new cross-reference. To do this, follow these steps;

1. Select the cross-reference in the document; for example, "Figure 1".
   
   NOTE: Do not select the introductory text; for example, do not select "For more information, see." To modify the introductory text in a cross-reference, edit the text in the document.
2. On the Insert menu, click Cross-reference.
3. Make sure the Reference type list contains the type of cross-reference that you are editing, and make sure the For which Reference Type list contains the correct item.
4. Under Insert reference to, click the new item that you want to refer to.
5. Click Insert and then click Close.

How to Update a Cross-reference

To update cross-references, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Update All Cross-references

To update all cross-references in a document, click Select All on the Edit menu, and then press F9.

Method 2: Update One Cross-reference

To update a single cross-reference in a document, select the cross-reference, and then press F9.

For additional information about updating cross-references, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: