Figure references in MS Word and LaTeX ("Figure" vs. "Fig.")

Reason #98856 why I hate Microsoft Word: It's incredibly difficult to caption and cross-reference figures in a flexible way. Many journals have style rules that require you to refer to figures as "Figure 1" at the start of a sentence, or "Fig. 1" in the middle of a sentence. In LaTeX, this is super easy:

1. Label the figure using

   \caption{\label{example} (a) blah (b) whatever.}
   

   Label the figure using

   \caption{\label{example} (a) blah (b) whatever.}
   

   
   
2. In the document, type:

   This is shown in Fig. \ref{example}"

   
   
3. Save and compile.

How to do it in MS Word:

1. Insert a caption under Figure 1:
   1. References -> Captions -> Insert Caption
   2. Enter " (a) blah (b) whatever". Don't forget the space at the start.
   3. Select "Figure" from the Label: drop-down box
   4. Press "OK"
2. Insert the reference in the text:
1. Type "This is shown in Fig. "
2. References -> Captions -> Cross-reference
3. Select "Figure" in the Reference type drop-down list
4. Select "Only label and number" from the "Insert reference to:" drop-down list
5. Select the Figure you want to reference from the "For which caption" list.
6. Click "Insert"
7. Click "Close"
8. Click on the badly-formatted "Figure 1" text that has appeared in the document (in the middle, not at the start or end)
9. Press Shift+F9 to display the field format
10. Replace the text that says:

    { REF _Ref361669033 \h }

    (or whatever the reference code happens to be) with:

    { REF _Ref361669033 \h \# 0 }

    Make sure that all the spaces are in precisely the right place, otherwise it won't work
11. Hide the field format by pressing Shift+F9 again
12. Press F9 to refresh the field
3. Save the file and punch the wall until your fist bleeds.