Caption Image Order

Question

I have added captions to my images (wrapped text) in Word and I am moving them around on a page to fit them on one sheet. When I do this and update the captions the images are out of order. I would expect they would go from left to right, top to bottom. From l-r, t-b, I have image 5-7, 5-6, 5-8, 5-10, 5-9, 5-11, 5-13, 5-12. Is there a way to convince Word that I want them to read left to right, top to bottom? I have tried moving and changing heights to make them even. I think it has to do with where the images are in the text, even though there isn't any text. The wrapping seems to throw things off. I can adjust the numbers but that removes the field, sort of defeating the purpose.

Answer 1

Even though some or all of the anchors appear in the same place, the one you see at any time belongs to the one picture or caption that is currently selected. Once all the pictures and captions are located on the page where you want them, select one picture caption at a time and drag its anchor to the corresponding empty paragraph (assuming you have one paragraph per caption).

The quickest way to update all the sequence fields is to press Ctrl+P to open the Print page and then press Esc to return to the document. (This assumes that at File > Options > Display, you have checked "Update fields before printing".)

Answer 2

Thank you, I numbered my paragraphs, moved my images to where I wanted them (after they moved from hitting enter 8 times), and then dragged the anchors to their corresponding, sequential paragraph, and this worked. The CTRL P and ESC worked great.

Definitely finicky... If the coding allowed you to enter the image number (I am not a coder and I have no idea how/if that would work) that would make it a bit easier. This might mess up the rest of the chapter numbering, however...

Thanks for everyone's help.

Answer 3

Thank you, I assumed it had something to do with the anchors.

I used several returns to generate a 'blank paragraph', which is what I assume you meant. I move each anchor to one of the paragraphs, in order. Then I have to move the images to put them back where I need them so they all fit on the page. This moves the anchors back to the images and reorders the sequence back to the incorrect order.

I am unable to put them in sequential order in one line/paragraph (this would be the most practical from my perspective). The anchors are somewhat 'locked' and will only go to certain locations. They aren't numbered either so when they overlap (they like to go to the same spot) it is not possible to tell which anchor is which.

Also, I have tried the CTRL A, F9, but it doesn't update those fields. I have to right-click on each individual field and update it. This adds a lot of extra steps trying to make sure every picture has the correct field - I get a duplicate F-7 for example until I update both pictures.

Moving the Anchors should not move the images. If it does, yes, move the image back being careful to not move the anchor. This is finicky.

I forgot that Ctrl+A does not select things in textboxes.

Here is a macro that will update all SEQ fields in a document:

Sub SeqFieldUpdateAllStory()
' Written by Charles Kyle Kenyon 15 November 2001 Updated 26 May 2021 for Seq field
' repaired by Jezebel
' All Story Field Updater - Seq fields
Dim oField As Field
Dim oStory As range
' On Error Resume Next
For Each oStory In ActiveDocument.StoryRanges
' This goes into headers and footers as well as the regular document
Do
For Each oField In oStory.Fields
If oField.Type = wdFieldSeq Then
oField.Update
End If
Next oField
Set oStory = oStory.NextStoryRange
Loop Until oStory Is Nothing
Next oStory
Set oStory = Nothing
On Error GoTo -1
End Sub

Instructions for Installing Macros from Forums or Websites by Graham Mayor, MVP

Answer 4

Thank you, I assumed it had something to do with the anchors.

I used several returns to generate a 'blank paragraph', which is what I assume you meant. I move each anchor to one of the paragraphs, in order. Then I have to move the images to put them back where I need them so they all fit on the page. This moves the anchors back to the images and reorders the sequence back to the incorrect order.

I am unable to put them in sequential order in one line/paragraph (this would be the most practical from my perspective). The anchors are somewhat 'locked' and will only go to certain locations. They aren't numbered either so when they overlap (they like to go to the same spot) it is not possible to tell which anchor is which.

Also, I have tried the CTRL A, F9, but it doesn't update those fields. I have to right-click on each individual field and update it. This adds a lot of extra steps trying to make sure every picture has the correct field - I get a duplicate F-7 for example until I update both pictures.

Answer 5

The numbering is produced by SEQ fields.

They choose the order according to where the Caption is anchored in your document.

With this many images, it can be confusing.

It starts with the anchor point of the image.

The caption will be anchored immediately following the image.

Moving a Figure and Its Caption

It will help if you group each image and its related caption text box.

I recommend turning on display of anchors as a start.

Images that are floating (not in-line-with-text) are anchored to a paragraph in Word, even an empty paragraph.

Anchors can be selected and moved with the mouse.

I would suggest having some empty paragraphs behind your images and anchoring each image and caption group to a separate paragraph. You can move the anchors without moving the images. That way you can establish the order you want. Once you have done this, select the entire page (or at least all of the captions) and press F9 to update the SEQ fields.