Is it possible to assign a specific style to all cross-references in Word 2007?

Question

Nothing more to add, I would like to change the style of all cross-references I have in a Word 2007 document at once. But I have no idea how to do it. How can this be done?

Answer 1

Yes, it is possible—but with a few important caveats. Word 2007 doesn’t automatically tag cross-references with a unique style, but you can manually assign a style to them and then update them all at once using Find and Replace or a macro.

🧩 Step-by-Step: Assign a Style to All Cross-References

✅ Option 1: Manual Style Assignment (Best for Small Documents)

1. Select each cross-reference manually.
2. Apply a custom Character Style (e.g., “CrossRef”) from the Styles gallery.
3. Repeat for each reference.

🔁 This is tedious for large documents, but works well if you only have a few.

🧠 Option 2: Use Find and Replace to Style All Fields

Cross-references are inserted as fields in Word. You can use Find and Replace to locate all fields and apply a style:

1. Press Ctrl + H to open Find and Replace.
2. Click More >>.
3. Click Format > Style, and choose Normal (or any style that matches your current cross-reference formatting).
4. In the Find what box, type: ^d REF - This finds all REF fields (used in cross-references).
5. In the Replace with box, leave it blank.
6. Click Format > Style, and choose your custom style (e.g., “CrossRef”).
7. Click Replace All.

✅ This applies your style to all cross-references at once.

🧪 Option 3: Use a Macro (Advanced)

If you're comfortable with VBA, you can run a macro to loop through all fields and apply a style. Here's a sample:

Sub StyleCrossReferences()

Dim fld As Field

For Each fld In ActiveDocument.Fields

If fld.Type = wdFieldRef Then

fld.Code.Font.Name = "Consolas"

fld.Code.Font.Size = 10

fld.Code.Shading.BackgroundPatternColor = wdColorGray15

End If

Next fld

End Sub

🛡️ Always back up your document before running macros.

🎯 Final Tip

After applying styles, press Ctrl + A and F9 to update all fields and ensure formatting is applied consistently.