Angus Macdonald

This is a Word 2010 that replaces Word’s in-built ‘add cross-reference’ tool. Why? — because it has annoyed me greatly whilst writing my thesis!

Installer (EXE Version).

Source code as ZIP, on Github.

Please note that this only works in Word 2010, not on any earlier versions.

Why this is ‘needed’

The standard word tool (pictured below) quickly becomes tedious to use in large documents for a number of reasons:

• You have to switch between references for things (like figures and numbered items) constantly, and you have to use a drop-down box to do this.
• It doesn’t remember your last referenced item, so if you’re constantly referencing a figure that is two pages down the list, you constantly have to scroll down to that reference.
• It doesn’t remember the size of your reference box, so even if you have a massive monitor, you can only ever use a tiny fraction of it to search for references.

The Standard Word Cross-reference Tool

What CrossRef++ Does Differently

• References are displayed in a task pane, which typically stretches the length of a screen, but can be moved around as well.
• It remembers (roughly) where your last used reference was for each type (figure, numbered item, etc.), so you don’t have to scroll as much as before.
• It provides a few big buttons to at the top to change reference type, which makes it quicker to change.

The CrossRef++ Tool

What it Doesn’t Yet Do

• It doesn’t support all types of references (for endnotes and other things you need to use the old tool).
• It doesn’t handle re-sizing the task pane well.
• It doesn’t allow you to search through references, though I’d like to do that eventually.