WD2000: Changing One Caption Label or Numbering Changes All Captions (211707)

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 reflect the new numbering format.

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

Table 1
Table 2

If you select the "Table 2" caption, click Caption on the Insert menu, and change the label in the Caption dialog box to Figure, the Table 1 caption also changes. You now have the following captions in your document:

Figure 1
Figure 2

CAUSE

When you click OK in the Caption dialog box, all of the fields that generate the caption label and numbering are updated to reflect the changes you made.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, manually modify both the label and the SEQ field instead of using the Caption command (on the Insert menu). To do this, press SHIFT+F9 to turn on field codes view. You should see something that looks similar to the following:

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 the following:

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 you want 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...