Formatting Issues

How to Remove the "p." Label from APA Citations in Word

Olivia Miller Oct 14, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to prevent Microsoft Word from automatically adding a "p." prefix to APA citations when inserting an image identifier instead of a standard page number.

How to Remove the "p." Label from APA Citations in Word

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Formatting in-text APA citations to reference specific images (e.g., "Image X") without creating separate bibliography entries for every image.
Observed behavior: Word's citation tool automatically prepends a "p." label when an image identifier is typed into the page-number field, resulting in an incorrect format like "(Author, Year, p. Image X)".

Before you start

Before modifying your citation fields, ensure you have finalized your bibliography sources, as converting citations to static text will disconnect them from the document's automatic source manager.

Solution 1Recommended

Convert the Citation to Static Text

The most reliable way to remove the "p." label and customize your citation format is to convert the dynamic citation field into editable static text.

Microsoft Word's built-in APA citation style is hardcoded to treat anything entered in the 'Pages' field as a page number, automatically adding the 'p.' or 'pp.' prefix. Converting the field to text bypasses this limitation.

Insert the citation

Navigate to the 'References' tab, click 'Insert Citation', and select your desired source from the drop-down menu.

Access citation options

Click anywhere on the newly inserted citation in your document. A small drop-down arrow will appear on the right side of the citation box.

Convert to static text

Click the drop-down arrow and select 'Convert citation to static text' from the menu.

Edit the label

Manually delete the 'p.' prefix and type your desired image identifier, such as 'Image X', so the final text reads exactly how you want it.

Loss of Automatic Updates: Once a citation is converted to static text, it will no longer automatically update if you change the source details in the Bibliography manager.

Solution 2

Suppress Default Citation Fields

You can suppress standard citation fields (Author, Year, Title) to manually type out the citation exactly as needed while keeping the source tied to your bibliography.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word automatically add 'p.' to my APA citations?

Word's APA citation style template is hardcoded to assume that any data entered into the 'Pages' field is a standard page number. To comply with standard APA formatting rules, it automatically prefixes the entry with 'p.' for single pages or 'pp.' for multiple pages.

Can I create a custom citation style in Word to fix this?

Yes, but it is highly technical. It requires locating and modifying complex XSL files in Word's bibliography styles directory. For most users, simply converting the citation to static text is a much safer, faster, and more practical workaround.

How do I properly cite an image or figure in APA format?

According to official APA guidelines, if you are referring to a specific figure or image from a source, you should format the in-text citation with the author, year, and the specific figure or image number (e.g., 'Smith, 2023, Figure 2') rather than using a page number.

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