The cause might be direct formatting applied to the cross-referenced table caption—formatting which is then reflected in the cross-reference itself.

Long term, this must be fixed in the cross-referenced item. However, a quicker fix might be to add the \* CHARFORMAT switch to the cross-reference (REF) field. If many cross-references have this problem, then adding a switch may be time-consuming. However, if it happens with just a few of them, you can certainly use this workaround.

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional