Formatting Issues

How to Remove Bold Formatting from a Table of Figures Entry in Word

Ayan Masood Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to remove bold formatting from specific entries in a Microsoft Word Table of Figures.

How to Remove Bold Formatting from a Table of Figures Entry in Word

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Finalizing document formatting when generating a Table of Figures.
Observed behavior: Entries in the Table of Figures appear in bold if the original figure caption is bold, overriding the standard regular text style of the table.

Before you start

Ensure your document is fully written and all captions are correctly placed before attempting to fix the Table of Figures formatting, as updating the table will overwrite your manual changes.

Solution 1Recommended

Manually Remove Direct Bold Formatting from the Table Entry

This is the most practical solution for fixing bold entries caused by bold captions. It must be done manually after the document is finalized.

Microsoft Word's Table of Figures and Table of Contents often replicate direct formatting applied to the source text. If your source figure caption has direct bold formatting applied to it, the generated entry in the reference table will also be bold, regardless of the Table of Figures base style settings.

Finalize Document Content

Make sure all text, images, and captions in your document are complete. Update the Table of Figures one last time by right-clicking it and selecting 'Update Field' to ensure all page numbers are accurate.

Select the Bold Entry

Highlight the specific entry or text within the Table of Figures that is incorrectly appearing in bold text.

Remove Bold Formatting

Press 'Ctrl + B' on your keyboard, or navigate to the 'Home' tab and click the 'Bold' icon in the Font group to remove the bold effect from the highlighted text.

Manually Remove Direct Bold Formatting from the Table Entry

Update Warning: If you update the Table of Figures after making this change, Word will regenerate the table from the source captions and restore the unwanted bold formatting. Only perform this step at the very end of your editing process.

Manage Document Formatting Easily

Use WPS Writer to Manage Captions and Tables of Figures

WPS Writer offers an intuitive interface for managing document styles, captions, and references. You can easily insert a Table of Figures and fine-tune its formatting without hassle, all while maintaining perfect compatibility with Microsoft Word documents.

1. Open your Document in WPS Writer: Launch WPS Office and open your existing Word document containing the Table of Figures.
2. Update References: Go to the 'References' tab on the top ribbon, find your Table of Figures, right-click it, and select 'Update Field' to ensure all captions and numbers are current.
3. Adjust Formatting: Highlight the entry in the table that appears in bold. Navigate to the 'Home' tab and uncheck the 'Bold' button in the font formatting section.
4. Save the Final Document: Click the 'Save' icon or press Ctrl+S to save your perfectly formatted document as a standard .docx file.

Easily insert and manage Tables of Figures and Tables of Contents with precise style controls.Seamlessly open, edit, and save Microsoft Word (.docx) documents without formatting loss.Lightweight and runs smoothly on Windows, Mac, and Linux.Free alternative to Microsoft Office with a highly familiar tabbed interface.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my Table of Figures entry appear in bold?

When a Table of Figures is generated, it pulls text directly from the figure captions in your document body. If the original caption has direct bold formatting applied to it, the Table of Figures will inherit and replicate that exact bold formatting.

Can I modify the Table of Figures style to fix this automatically?

Modifying the default 'Table of Figures' style will change the baseline font settings, but it usually cannot override direct formatting (like a manually applied bold effect) that is pulled directly from the source caption text.

Is there a way to prevent the bold text without manually editing the generated table?

Yes. You can remove the direct bold formatting from the figure caption itself in the document body. If you want the caption to look bold in the body but not the table, apply a specific character style to the caption rather than using direct formatting.

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