Creating a List of Tables or List of Figures (Add-in)

If your paper contains a large number of figures or tables, you may be required to include a List of Figures or List of Tables page.

PERRLA for Word does not have a feature for creating a List of Figures or List of Tables. However, you can use standard Word functions to create both in a PERRLA paper.

About Lists of Tables and Figures

Typically, the List of Figures and List of Tables are placed immediately after the Table of Contents. These instructions assume you have already added a Table of Contents to your paper.

Note: These instructions are for the desktop version of Microsoft Word. If you are working in Word for Web, you'll need to complete these steps in the desktop version of Word instead.

Creating a List of Tables or Figures

First, create a new blank page after the Table of Contents.

1. Place your cursor on the line immediately below the last Table of Contents entry. 
2. Go to Word's Layout tab. 
3. Click Breaks to open the dropdown menu. 
4. Click Page under Page Breaks. 

A new blank page will appear after the Table of Contents.

Next, add a heading at the top of the blank page.

1. Place your cursor at the top of the new blank page and press Enter. 
2. Move your cursor back up to the top line. 
3. Type List of Figures or List of Tables. 
4. Highlight the text you just typed. 
5. Go to the PERRLA tab in Word's ribbon. 
6. Click Text & Heading Style. 
7. Click Heading 1. 

The heading will now be formatted as a Level 1 Heading at the top of the page.

Finally, add the figures or tables to the list.

1. Place your cursor on the line below the heading. 
2. Go to Word's References tab. 
3. Click Insert Table of Figures. 
4. In the Caption Label box, choose Figure for a List of Figures or Table for a List of Tables. 
5. Click OK. 

The list will now appear beneath the heading.

Modifying the list formatting for APA and MLA

Word single-spaces the list by default. If your format requires double spacing, follow these steps:

1. Highlight the generated list. 
2. Go to Word's Home tab. 
3. Click Line and Paragraph Spacing. 
4. Click 2.0. 

The list will only show "Figure 1, Figure 2" or "Table 1, Table 2" without figure or table titles. If you need to include titles, you'll have to type them in manually. You cannot click directly within the list to make edits – use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate your cursor inside the list instead.

For example, use the arrow keys to move the cursor next to "Figure 1," then type the title to get something like "Figure 1: Title of the Figure." Continue using the arrow keys to navigate to each entry and add its title.

To add a List of Tables on a separate page below the List of Figures, repeat all of the steps above starting from the beginning of this article, using the List of Figures page as your starting point instead of the Table of Contents.