Updated by GC SST Summer 2021
Section 4: How to Create a List of Figures Automatically in
Microsoft Word
Adding captions via the Captions section (under References tab), enables you to
automatically create a List of Figures in Microsoft Word. Make sure that your captions
have been properly inserted and modified. If they are not, then it will cause issues when
you try and create your List of Figures.
1. Go to your blank List of Figures page.
2. Hit enter so that have a blank line underneath the List of Figures heading.
3. Click the References tab. Select the Insert Table of Figures, found in the Captions
section.
4. The Table of Figures menu will appear. Yours should look similar to the one below.
5. Make sure that the Caption label says “Figure.” If it does not, click the down arrow
and choose “Figure.”
6. In order to modify the font size, font style, and make sure the List is double-spaced,
click on the modify button. This will bring up another the Style menu. Click modify again
and this will bring up the Modify Style menu.
7. Once you have made the necessary changes, click OK (all three menus).
8. The List of Figures will be generated.
Remember: Similar to the Table of Contents and List of Tables, you cannot fix any
misspellings or spacing problems on the List of Figures itself. Instead, you will need to go
to the caption itself and make the corrections. You will then need to update the List of
Figures to reflect the changes.
Updating the List of Figures:
There are two options to update the List of Figures.
• First Option: The first is that under the Modify Style menu (Step 6 above), you
can click “Automatically update.” This will ensure that any changes made to the
figures (caption spelling or their placement) will be automatically updated on the
List of Figures.
• Second Option:
1. Navigate your mouse to the Table of Contents itself. Right-click within the Table
of Contents. It will turn grey and two menus will appear.
2. Select “Upper Field.” Another menu will appear.
3. Choose “Update entire table” and click OK. This will update your List of Tables to
reflect any changes you may have made to the tables’ captions or placement in
the document.