How to remove Error! Reference Source Not Found from a Word document?
The “Error! Reference Source Not Found” message in Word occurs when you delete a caption or other content that is referenced elsewhere in the document. This can disrupt the flow and readability of your document, and you may need to remove these error references to maintain a clean and professional appearance.
This tutorial will provide you with some advice on how to remove all error references from your Word document:
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Remove all error references manually
When a referenced caption or content is deleted, you may not see the error message (Error! Reference Source Not Found) until you attempt to print the document, or after saving and reopening it. To remove all such error references in Word, follow these steps:
- Press Ctrl + A to select the entire document, then press F9 to update and unlock the fields. The error references will appear like this:
- Select the error message, then press Backspace or Delete to remove the error references one by one.
Note: While this method is easy for removing a few error references, it can be tedious if there are many to remove manually. In such cases, using the following method.
Remove all error references with Kutools for Word
For a more convenient and faster way to remove all error references in Word, you can use Kutools for Word. This tool’s Error Cross-References utility allows you to eliminate all error references with just one click, bypassing the need to update fields manually.
Follow these steps:
- Click Kutools Plus. In the Captions group, click More > Error Cross-References.
- In the dialog that appears, click the OK button to proceed. Tip: You can select the "Delete Text as well" checkbox to remove both broken links and their associated text.
- A confirmation dialog will pop up showing the number of “Error! Reference source not found” instances removed from your document. Click OK.
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