How to Insert a Picture Caption Without a Number in Word
Question details
The user wants to add a descriptive caption to a picture in Word without including the automatic sequence number or label.
- Product
- Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Document formatting and adding descriptive text to images.
- Observed behavior
- Word automatically inserts a label and sequence number (e.g., 'Figure 1') when using the Insert Caption tool, but the user only wants the text.
Ensure your document is in the Print Layout view and that your images are already inserted into the document before adding captions.
Modify the Default Caption and Delete the SEQ Field
The most straightforward method is to use the standard caption tool and manually remove the automatic numbering field.
Word uses a SEQ (sequence) field to automatically generate numbers for captions. While you cannot disable this entirely from the dialog box, you can easily delete the field after insertion.
Click on the image you want to caption in your document.
Go to the 'References' tab on the ribbon and click on 'Insert Caption'.
Check the box for 'Exclude label from caption' to remove the prefix (like 'Figure' or 'Table').
Click 'OK'. The caption will appear below the image with just a number. Highlight the number (which is a SEQ field) and press 'Delete', then type your custom caption text.
Use a Text Box to Create a Custom Caption
A text box gives you complete control over the caption text without triggering Word's automatic numbering system.
Effortlessly Manage Images and Captions in WPS Writer
WPS Writer offers a seamless and user-friendly way to manage document layouts, including images and custom captions. You can easily insert captions without numbers or fully customize image text wrapping with just a few clicks.
- 1. Insert your image: Open your document in WPS Writer, go to the 'Insert' tab, and click 'Picture' to add your image.
- 2. Add a text box: Click 'Text Box' under the 'Insert' tab and draw it near your image to act as a custom, unnumbered caption.
- 3. Group the elements: Select both the image and the text box by holding the Ctrl key, right-click, and choose 'Group' to lock their positions together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Word always add 'Figure 1' to my captions?
Word uses a built-in SEQ (sequence) field to automatically number captions for easy referencing and generating tables of figures. You can bypass this by checking 'Exclude label from caption' or manually deleting the number after inserting.
How do I keep my picture and caption on the same page?
You can group the picture and a text box caption together, or select both paragraphs, go to Paragraph Settings, and check 'Keep with next' under the Line and Page Breaks tab to prevent them from splitting across pages.
Can I remove the caption number but keep it in the Table of Figures?
If you delete the SEQ field (the number), Word will not be able to automatically include it in a standard Table of Figures. You would need to use custom text styles and build a custom Table of Contents based on that specific style instead.
