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Changing the cross referencing default to label and number only

Anonymous
2011-01-27T01:36:32+00:00

I am writing in regards to an ongoing irritance in regards to the default of Insert Reference To "Entire Caption" when using cross referencing. I would like to change the default to "Label and Number Only", but cannot find a way to do so. Is there a way to change the default? If not, why not?

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-12-02T23:57:38+00:00

    In my opinion, there are a lot of things that need fixing with the cross-referencing function. I've listed many of them in two blog posts, with suggestions for what I'd like to see; others have added comments and suggestions too:

    * http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/word-annoyance-cross-referencing/

    * http://cybertext.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/message-to-microsoft-fix-words-cross-reference-dialog-box/

    I've edited well over 1000 long reports (most are 100+ pages; some are 500+ pages). All have tables and figures, and all have cross-references, so I use this cross-reference dialog box many times a day.

    For me, this dialog box is probably up there in the top 5 of the least-friendly things about Word (2003, 2007 or 2010), and it doesn't seem to have been touched as far as design and functionality go when Microsoft has released newer versions of Word.

    --Rhonda

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  1. Paul Edstein 82,861 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2011-01-27T07:37:47+00:00

    Hi Natalie,

    You can't change the default, though a macro could be used to intercept the Insert|Cross-reference dialogue and automatically select both the 'Figure' and 'Label and Number Only' options. The code for such a macro would have to use a function called 'Sendkeys', which isn't renowned for its reliability. Plus any code relying on Sendkeys is dependent on the Word version.

    In any event, in a given Word session, once you've used the Insert|Cross-reference dialogue to insert a 'Figure' reference with the 'Label and Number Only' option, the next use of the Insert|Cross-reference dialogue will default to those settings.

    As to why not, call it a design decision. Word has so many features that providing user-configurable defaults for all of them would require far more coding and would make supporting users with operational issues much more complex.

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-04-27T20:12:51+00:00

    I have asked the same question before, and I am equally as irritated by the fact that "Entire Caption" is the default. I don't believe I have EVER seen an entire caption as a cross-reference within text. I understand they can't make all the features customisable, but could they at least choose the most common option ("Label and Number Only") to be the default? It's a huge pain to have to change the default every time.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-03-11T08:07:20+00:00

    Hi Paul,

    I think that you underestimate the problem and frustration that the lack of possibility to change default settings in the cross-referece dialog causes. In technical writning you have several types of cross references, forcing you to change the option to the before mentioned and probably most common "only label and number" time after time. This is especially painful if you work with several documents at the same time.

    One simple checkbox "use as default" below the "only label and number option" in the cross reference box would make a lot of people a lot happier. Or at least as someone points out, if you dont want to enable people to select their own default due to complexity reasons, plese change the word default setting to only label and number, because this is by far the most common way to refer to tabular material.

    Regards!

    Henrik

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-04-27T20:55:23+00:00

    I can't understand that default either.  And it sometimes does change in the same Word session.  I've never figured out how or why. It is so irritating.

    But, thanks, Paul, for your answer.

    Pam

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