How to Create and Customize a Table of Figures in Microsoft Office Word

You know how when you read a big book, sometimes there are many pictures or tables that you might want to look at, right? So Table of Figures (TOF) shows you all the pictures and tables in the book and what page they’re on. This is helpful because it’s like a treasure map that helps you quickly find all the pictures and tables in the book! This post will share how to create and customize a Table of Figures (TOF).

What Is the Difference Between a Table of Figures and a Table of Content?

The Table of Contents (TOC) lists a document’s main sections, chapters, and page numbers. In addition to providing a quick overview of the document’s structure, it allows the reader to navigate quickly to a particular section of interest. A TOC is typically found after the title page and any acknowledgments at the beginning of a document.

Alternatively, a Table of Figures (TOF) lists all the illustrations and figures in the document, along with their page numbers. Graphs, tables, charts, and images are located in this section so the reader can easily find them. Documents and books usually have a TOF at the end after the TOC or the beginning of the main body.

How to Create and Customize a Table of Figures in Microsoft Office Word

Creating a Table of Figures in Microsoft Word can help organize and navigate a document with multiple figures, tables, or images. It is only possible when the Word document can identify it with a name.

Here are the steps to create and customize a Table of Figures in Word:

• The first step is to prepare all the images and tables with a proper names. For images, you can insert captions. To do this, select the figure, go to the References tab, and click Insert Caption. Choose the label you want to use (e.g., Figure, Table, etc.), and click OK.
• Once you have inserted captions for all the figures, go to the page where you want to insert the Table of Figures.
• Click where you want to insert the Table of Figures and go to the References tab.
• Click Insert Table of Figures and select the options you want to include, such as the label, position, and style. You can also choose to include the page numbers and how many levels of headings you want to include.
• Click OK, and the Table of Figures will be inserted into your document.
• To customize the Table of Figures, return to the References tab and click Insert Table of Figures again.
• In the Table of the Figures dialog box, you can change the table’s appearance by selecting a different format under General or Options. You can also change the table’s font, size, and color by selecting Modify.

Note: If you add or remove figures from the document, you can update the Table of Figures by right-clicking on the table and selecting Update Field.

How to Create a Table of Content in Microsoft Word?

• First, identify the text which will be the headers, and insert or apply headings to it. To do that, select the text and choose between H1 to H5 or any other headers.
• Since TOC will be before the content starts, create new pages and then set the cursor where you want to insert the Table of Contents.
• In the menu on the top, go to the References tab and click Table of Contents.
• Select one of the automatic table options that Word provides or click Custom Table of Contents to customize the table of contents format.
• In the Table of Contents dialog box, you can customize the table of contents format by selecting a different font, size, and style and which heading levels to include.
• Once you have customized the table, click OK, and the Table of Contents will be inserted into your document.

Note: Similar to TOF, to update the TOC, you can right-click on the TOC and then choose to update. It is essential and should be double check before the document is sent.

Conclusion:

Both TOC and TOF are necessary, but TOC is more popular. If you are building a book or document with many images, citations, tables, and so on, it is essential to create a Table of Figures and include them right after the TOC. It will ensure users can quickly discover essential things in the document immediately.