I have manually updated my figure numbers but they are numbered the wrong way around. The figure which is higher up the page should be 1-6 and the figure further down should be 1-7. How can I correct this properly? Thanks.

When you add captions to wrapped objects, Word puts the captions inside text boxes, and the numbering sequence for captions will be determined by the relative positions of text box anchors. You will have to move the text box anchors, which can be done via drag & drop, and then update fields.

Alternatively, put your objects "In line with text" which means that captions will be in ordinary text paragraphs (and part of the normal text flow).

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

If I make my objects in line with text and then add more text earlier in the document, it will push my captions away from my objects, right?


Edit: I tried making the objects in line with text and the captions stayed in their boxes but attempting to update the field didn't change the numbers.


Unfortunately, the anchors appear to be on top of each other and don't respond to my attempts to drag them around anyway.

You have to select the object whose anchor you wish to move. In this case, it is important to remember that you have to move the anchor for the text box that contains the caption, so you should select the text box and move its anchor.

Again, however, using "In line with text" graphics will be a lot easier.

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Keeping objects and their captions together, and having the captions update correctly, is always a problem when the objects aren't inserted in-line. That's because the captions will also be inserted in a wrapped format, which places them in a different 'layer' from the body content and, so, won't update via Ctrl-A, F9, for example. The solution to both problems is to insert both the objects and their captions in-line in a table - which you can then give its own text wrapping.

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Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]