The best solution for numbering equations in Word (read it here)

[Default Name]

Hi everyone,

I have read here numerous posts on how to properly number the
equations in a scientific way (i.e. equation number in parenthesis on
the right).

What I wanted is something that looks like this:

Y = 2X (1)

After messing a bit with Word, I think I found the best way to do it
(including cross-referencing). Note that I am using Word 2003 so some
of the features might not be available in every versions. I wanted to
post the solution here to show other people how to do it.

Here we go:
Create a 3-columns, 1-row table. Adjust the width of the first and
third row to the width of the equation number (their width should be
the same so the center column where you enter the equation is
centered). Create an empty equation box in the center column. In the
right column, enter a caption. Now, Word won't let you put a caption
directly in a cell (it automatically selects the whole table and you
have to put it above or below the table). Instead, create the caption
somewhere else in the document (not attached on any object). Select
the label "Equation" and check "Exclude label from caption". Copy this
caption in the right cell of the table. Manually add parenthesis
before and after the caption (in the caption style). Now your caption
will look like this: (1).

Since a caption requires a carriage return at the end, it will take
two lines in the cell. Now the caption is not centered with the
equation. What I do is add another empty line on top of the caption
and add empty lines on top and bottom of the equation so everything is
centered. Set the borders of the table invisible (you might want to
set them white if you don't want them to be grayed when someone opens
your document in Word).

You can now cross-reference your equation anywhere in the text. The
reference will look like this: (1). You could also number your
captions differently so to include the chapter number, i.e. (1-3).

You can now create an AutoText with your table and insert it whenever
you need an equation. Voilà!

I hope this will be useful (feel free to add suggestions to the above
procedure, I am not very familiar with the advanced features of Word).

Thank you.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This is excellent except for one thing:

Since a caption requires a carriage return at the end, it will take

The end-of-cell marker functions as a paragraph mark, so I don't believe
that you need to press Enter at the end of the caption. That will save you
some other formatting problems. Note that you can choose to center text
vertically in your table cells, which should make the rest easier. Also, I
could be wrong, but I think the "Exclude label from caption" check box must
be new in Word 2003. Typically, Microsoft has not bothered to point this out
to any of the people who have been asking for this feature for years. <sigh>