How to Cross-Reference in Microsoft Word

Use Word's Cross-Reference tool to help your readers navigate quickly to the critical material in your work. This makes it easy for your readers to click across the same page to relevant content.

The Cross-Reference tool in Word works with tables, figures, footnotes, endnotes, and numbered items rather than headers and bookmarks, allowing you to connect to other locations in your document.

How to Create a Cross-Reference in Word to a Table or Other Object

You could wish to cite a section with a header, a figure on another page, or a footnote with further information in a text. To ensure that they appear in the Cross-Reference setup box, ensure the things you wish to reference are already there.

1. Place your cursor where you want the cross-reference to appear in your document to start it. Because you'll choose the text you wish to utilise during the following procedure, don't choose any already text to act as the link.
2. Cross-Reference may be selected by clicking the Links drop-down arrow on the Insert tab.
3. Select the Reference Type from the drop-down list when the Cross-Reference box displays. You'll see that you can choose a table, equation, figure, header, bookmark, footnote, or endnote. We'll make use of a table for this example.
4. The items in your document will show in the For Which box at the bottom of the window after you've chosen the Reference Type. If nothing shows up in the box, your document does not include that Reference Type.
5. Next, choose the link's appearance using the drop-down menu for Insert Reference To. Depending on the Reference Type you choose, there are many possibilities accessible. You may choose the complete heading text for a heading, the label and number for an equation, or the entire caption for a table, for instance.
6. If the box for Insert as Hyperlink is not already checked, click it. The cross-reference may then be added by clicking "Insert."
7. The Insert Reference To item you choose ought to appear in the text where your cursor now is. Since we choose a table as the Reference Type and "Entire Caption" as the Insert Reference.

The linked text should open a new window when clicked (or when Ctrl is held down while clicking).

Cross-reference a page number

Let's examine one more case with a different cross-reference configuration. We wish to cross-reference one of the stages in our numbered instructions using a page number from our text.

1. Place the cursor where you want the reference to appear, and choose "Cross-Reference" from the drop-down menu next to "Links" on the Insert tab.
2. When you choose "Numbered List" as the Reference Type, each list item will appear in the For Which box. Decide which list item to utilise. Select "Page Number" for Insert Reference To. Select "Insert"

3. Because our numbered list is on page two, you can see that the number "2" was inserted into the text where the cursor was.

4. When you click the linked number 2 while holding down the Ctrl key, you are sent immediately to the step you choose on page

Conclusion

Consider using Microsoft Word's Cross-Reference tool if you're preparing a document with many equations, figures, tables, or other elements that you want to make it simpler for your audience to discover.