How to Apply Multilevel Numbering to MS Word Tables

© Ugur Akinci
Imagine you have the following document:

 
You would like to insert TABLES to this text but number them starting with the multilevel number of the section they are in.
For example, you want the tables placed in section number “2” as “Table 2-a”, “Table 2-b”, “Table 2-c” and not simply as “Table 1”, “Table 2”, “Table 3” , etc.
Here is how you can do it:

Insert your table. Then click Insert Caption button on the References tab to display the Caption dialog box. As you can see, by default, Word is ready to assign the “Table 1″ title to your table but that’s not what we want:

 
Click the Numbering button to display the Caption Numbering dialog box (above).
Select the “Include chapter number” check-box and then select “Heading 1” from the “Chapter starts with style” drop-down list. MS Word automatically changes the title to “Table 1-a” which is what we want:

 
When we insert a SECOND table, MS Word automatically titles it “Table 1-b” since it is within the same section:

 
NOTE: You can have the title display both ABOVE or BELOW the table. Just select the POSITION option you like.
Here are the two tables titled correctly in multilevel style:

But let’s see what happens when we insert a table to a lower level of indentation, the Heading 2 level:

 
When we insert a table to section 1.1, we expect the table title to become “1.1-a” but instead Word is trying to assign “1-c”, which would be incorrect.
To correct this error, go back to the Caption Numbering dialog box and select “Heading 2” from the “Chapter starts with style” drop-down list:

 
And here are the corrected and auto-assigned sequential table titles for Heading 2 level: