Creating a list of figures

If you are working in Microsoft Word, you have the option to caption the images used in the document and then create a list of figures.

NOTE: Google Docs does not currently have a list of figures option.

Acquiring the practice document

If you are beginning this course at this point, you will need to access the practice document.

Downloading the practice document for Microsoft Word

If working in Microsoft Word, you will download and extract the document.

To begin downloading the practice document, click the following button:

Exercise Files

For detailed instructions on downloading and extracting files in Google Chrome or Firefox, visit Getting Started with Exercise Files.

Adding captions to images

Our document has two images, the line chart of average temperatures and the photo of the Black-eyed Susans. We will add captions to each image and then create a list of captions. We will begin with the line chart.

To open the Caption dialog box,
Right-click a blank area of the line chart, Click Insert Caption...

The Caption dialog box opens:

Caption dialog box

This dialog box gives us an area to enter the caption. There are options for which label we would like to use and where we would like the caption to appear. We can also modify the numbering applied to the captions.

To place the cursor, in the Caption area,
Click after the label, "Figure 1"
To add a caption, type:
: Average high and low temperatures by month
To accept this caption,
Click

The caption appears below the line chart.

The average temperatures line chart with the caption below it.

Let's add a caption to the photo of the Black-eyed Susans.

To open the Caption dialog box,
Right-click the photo of the Black-eyed Susans, Click Insert Caption...
To add a caption,
Click in the caption field, type: :Black-eyed Susans, Click

Now that the images are captioned, we can add a list of figures to the document.

Inserting a list of figures

The list of figures should be placed between the table of contents and author's note. We'll insert a new blank page after the table of contents and insert the list of figures there.

To place the cursor,
Click before the A in "Author's note"
To insert a blank page, on the keyboard, press:
Control key + Enter key

A blank page is now between the table of contents and the author's note. This new page should be numbered with the Roman numeral i. And the author's note page should be numbered ii.

1. To correctly place the cursor,
  Click at the top of the second page
2. To add a heading, type:
  List of figures
3. To format the heading, on the Home tab,
  Click
4. To open the Table of Figures dialog box, on the References tab, in the Captions group,
  Click

The Table of Figures dialog box opens. This dialog box gives several options for customizing the list of figures. We're going to accept the defaults.

1. To accept the Table of Figures default settings,
  Click

The list of figures now appears on the second page of the document.

Let's update the table of contents to include the list of figures.

To select the table of contents,
Click in the table of contents
To update the table of contents,
Click
To update the entire table,
Click the Update entire table radio button, Click

The List of figures is now at the top of the table of contents.

Creating a list of figures

Acquiring the practice document

Downloading the practice document for Microsoft Word

In Microsoft Word, download and extract the practice document.

Adding captions to images

Step 1. Open the Caption dialog box.

Step 2. Add a caption to the line chart.

Step 3. Add a caption to the photo of the Black-eyed Susans.

Inserting a list of figures

Step 1. Insert a blank page after the table of contents.

Step 2. Insert the list of figures on the second page of the document.

Step 3. Update the table of contents.