Lists of Figures and Tables

Use \listoffigures and \listoftables to generate lists of figures and tables. Numbered captions supply the entries; an image or tabular layout alone does not.

EasyLaTeX compiler setting: pdfLaTeX with article. After changing captions, compile and let the platform finish the passes needed to update the lists.

Generate a List of Figures#

Place this command where the list should appear:

\listoffigures

It collects figure numbers, captions, and page numbers from captions. The list is generated rather than maintained by hand.

Generate a List of Tables#

\listoftables

Captions in table and longtable can supply table-list entries. Whether separate lists are useful depends on the document's size and requirements.

Captions and List Entries#

A normal caption appears both with the figure and in the list:

\caption{Measurements at different temperatures}

For a long caption, supply a shorter list entry in square brackets:

\caption[Temperature and measurements]{Mean measurements from repeated experiments at different temperatures}

The bracketed text goes in the list; the braced text is the full caption. Both should distinguish the figure meaningfully rather than use a vague “Results” or “Table 1.”

Where to Place the Lists#

A common order is title, abstract, contents, figure/table lists, then the body. Follow the template when it specifies a different order:

\begin{document}
\maketitle
\tableofcontents
\listoffigures
\listoftables
\end{document}

Long documents may require separate pages or special front-matter numbering. Use the template's existing configuration.

Common Problems#

An Empty List#

Check that captions are present and compile the main file to completion. \includegraphics and tabular alone do not create entries.

Outdated Page Numbers#

Confirm that the latest compilation finished successfully and that the selected main file includes the figures and tables. Inspect the first log error if it did not finish.

Captions Are Too Long#

Use \caption[Short list entry]{Full caption} and retain the keywords that distinguish the object.

Complete Example#

The image images/experiment-result.png must exist:

\documentclass[a4paper,12pt]{article}
\usepackage{graphicx}
\usepackage{booktabs}

\begin{document}

\tableofcontents
\listoffigures
\listoftables

\section{Experiment results}

\begin{figure}[tbp]
  \centering
  \includegraphics[width=0.6\linewidth]{images/experiment-result.png}
  \caption[Experiment results]{Illustration of results under different conditions}
  \label{fig:result}
\end{figure}

\begin{table}[tbp]
  \centering
  \caption{Experimental parameters}
  \label{tab:parameters}
  \begin{tabular}{lr}
    \toprule
    Parameter & Value \\
    \midrule
    Temperature & 25 \\
    Time (min) & 30 \\
    \bottomrule
  \end{tabular}
\end{table}

\end{document}