Word can automatically number your captions of tables, figures and equations.
The following video will show you how to insert objects. Written instructions are below.
Written Instructions:
Right-click the object you wish to caption and select Insert Caption… from the shortcut menu. For tables, right-click the crosshair icon that appears at the top-left corner of the table when your cursor is anywhere on top of it.
In the Caption dialog box, select the label that applies to the object you have selected (e.g. “Figure” or “Table”) and select the positioning of the caption (e.g. above or below the object).
Type your text in the Caption: box.
To include the chapter number in your caption (e.g. “Figure 3-2” or “Table 2.1”), you need to set up your Heading 1 style first (see the Automatic Chapter and Subsection Numbering on page 8). This is the only way Word understands where each chapter starts; otherwise, you will get an error. If you’ve done that, then in the Caption dialog box,
Click the Numbering… button and check the Include Chapter Number box.
Select the separator you wish to have between your chapter number and the caption number and click OK.
Click OK to exit the dialog box.
If you do not like the appearance of your caption text, do not edit them one-by-one, but modify the style instead (see Working with Styles for more details).
Word will renumber your captions appropriately if you insert a new figure before other figures in your document.
