ETD Technical Support - Updating the
List of Tables (LOT),
List of Figures (LOF) and List of Objects (LOO)
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The purpose of this tutorial is to assist you in updating the List of Table (LOT), List of Figures (LOF) and List of Objects (LOO) within the Microsoft Word Formatting Template. Updating the LOT, LOF or LOO will require that you
To quickly expand the master document, you can press CTRL \ or go to View - Outline and click the Expand Subdocuments button bar in the Outlining Toolbar.
Once the master.doc file is expanded:
Note: You can only update the List of Tables (LOT), List of Figures (LOF) and List of Objects (LOO) (if any) when the master.doc file is open and expanded. If you attempt to update them from the subdocuments themselves (i.e tables.doc, figures.doc or objects.doc), they cannot "see" the caption styles used in the other subdocuments. Part 1- Updating the FieldsScroll through the document and right-click your mouse cursor over any of the items in the List of Tables (LOT), List of Figures (LOF) or List of Objects (LOO). Note: Macintosh users who have only one mouse button should hold down the CTRL key and click once on any of those entries. From the pulldown menu that appears, select Update Field. Your screen will be similar to the image below:
Note: Updating the LOT, LOF and LOO is very similar to updating the Table of Contents, except the word Table, Figure or Object appear on every entry. This is because MS Word is capturing all the text using the style 15 Caption Figure, 16 Caption Table or 16a Caption Object. Unfortunately this is not something that can be prevented in Microsoft Word, so you will have to remove those words manually from the LOT and LOF using the following technique. Part 2 - Removing the word "Table", "Figure" and "Object" from each entryThere is a very fast and simple way to remove the extra words from your LOT, LOF and LOO entries. It will require that you use the Find and Replace feature.
Your dialogue box should resemble the images below:
Below is an example of the same technique within the List of Figures:
Note: Once this has been accomplished, you can further improve your LOT, LOF and LOO by removing the period (which follows the table, figure or object number) and aligning the first line of text with any carryover lines or subsequent LOT, LOF or LOO entries. Part 3 - Aligning the first line of each entryTo align your text and remove the period following your entry number, perform the following steps.
Your dialogue box should resemble the image below:
Your screen should resemble the image below:
If you're doing this with the List of Figures or List of Objects, your dialogue box will look similar:
Note: If you find that you missed a few items, you can either correct the original entry or replace the item manually with a tab character later. Part 4 - Removing extraneous text from each entryThe Editorial Office prefers that your List of Tables (LOT), List of Figures (LOF)and List of Object (LOO) entries be fairly brief. So once they are updated, this will require you to remove the extra text manually from each entry. This can be time consuming if you have numerous large captions that don't have an easily discernable break in content. For simplicity, you'll want to select the text between the end of the table, figure or object's general description and the tab the forms the dot leader for the page number.
The image below shows an example of how this is achieved in the List of Figures:
Once completed, your LOT, LOF and LOO is ready for review by the Editorial Office. Note: Since any text modifications are removed whenever the LOT, LOF or LOO fields are updated, going through the above procedure is only necessary just prior to the document's submission to the Editorial Office. So save yourself the headache of doing this multiple times and save your energy for the final update. Here is an example of how the LOT should look upon completion:
It is also advisable to refer to Appendix H of the Guide for Preparing Theses & Dissertations to verify that your list formatting is correct prior to submission of your document. If you have any challenges with your document, please feel free to contact us at etd@grove.ufl.edu, visit the ETD Consulting Lab in The Hub, Room 224 or call 392-HELP (4357) and select option 5. |








