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In this article we will show you how to Fix ‘Error, Reference source not found’ issue. In Word documents, cross-references are used to link to other parts of the same document. For example, you can use a cross-reference to link to something else in the document, like a chart, figure, table, equation, page number, heading, etc. Once it’s made, a cross-reference looks like a link, and you can use Ctrl + mouse click to go to the place in the document where the item it refers to is.
Depending on your needs, you may need to delete some item captions or other content like a table, figure, or other thing that is referenced somewhere in the Word document. But you forget to take it out of the document or change the reference field you made for it. A lot of Word users have said that “Error! Reference Source Not Found” shows up in the reference field of their documents. Users have also run into this error when trying to print Word files from their home or work printers. If you want to know more information about this visit official Microsoft support site.
If you see this error message in a document with cross-references, it’s probably because the cross-reference bookmark that was in the document has been removed. In this case, you can either manually remove these error references or use a third-party tool to do so. This error message can also be caused by a corrupted installation of Office that needs to be fixed. In this case, the document has a cross-reference bookmark, but the error message is still shown. Here are the many ways to Fix ‘Error, Reference source not found’ issue.
Removing all broken references manually
If you’re having trouble with cross-reference (REF) fields, it’s probably because the document’s bookmarks have been removed. In this case, the best way to fix it is to unlock the fixes and then keep updating them until they don’t have any more mistakes. Here’s a quick explanation of how to do it:
- First, press Ctrl+A to select all text.
- When the whole text is chosen, press F9 to make the fields available.
- Once the fields are unlocked, go back and fix all the text that refers to the broken content.
- After you’ve made these changes, save them and then go to File > Print to see if the error has been fixed.
Repairing the Office installation
It turns out that this problem can also happen if some files from the Office installation are broken. Several people who had the problem said that it was fixed after they fixed their Office installation. After they did that and restarted their computer, the Error Reference Source Not Found message no longer came up when they tried to print the document. Here’s a quick guide on how to fix the installation of Office:
- Press the Windows key and the letter R to bring up the Run box.
- Type “appwiz.cpl” in the Run box, and press Enter to open the Programs and Features screen.
- Scroll down through the list of programs on the Programs and Features screen until you find the one for your office installation.
- Right-click on the office installation and choose Change.
- Choose Quick Repair at the repair prompt and click the Repair button.
- Wait until the repair process is done.
- Once the repair process is done, restart your computer.
- Check to see if the problem is fixed.
- If the problem still hasn’t been fixed, try the Online Repair method.
Using the Kutools for Word tool
If you want to install an add-in for Word, there’s a much easier way to get rid of your broken Cross-References fields. If you have a lot of broken fields, these solutions are the best choice because they make it easy to fix the problem. To use this shortcut, you’ll need to install Kutools for Word, which has groups of tools that will make your work easier. Here’s a quick guide on how to fix Cross-References errors with Kutools for Word:
- Click on the “Free Download” button at this link to get the Kutools for Word installer.
- To install the add-in on your Word program, double-click the installation executable and then follow the on-screen instructions.
- When the installation is done, turn your computer back on.
- When you turn on your computer again, open Word, go to the new menu item Enterprise > More, and click on Error Cross-References.
- After a short time, a dialog box will pop up and tell you how many mistakes were found.
- To fix the Cross-References errors, decide if you want to delete the text or not and click OK.
- All of your broken references will be fixed in a few seconds.
Locking the fields before printing
If you want a quick fix that will stop the Error Reference Source Not Found and let you print the document quickly, you can lock the field before printing the document. Several people who tried to fix the same problem have said that this solution helped them get around the problem. Keep in mind that this fix is just a workaround and doesn’t fix the problem that is causing the error message. If you want a real solution, not just a way around the problem, move on to the next method below. Here’s how to lock the fields before printing the documents:
- Start the Word program and open the file.
- You can choose the whole document by pressing Ctrl+A or clicking the mouse.
- Press Ctrl+F11 to lock the cross-reference (REF) fields once the whole document is selected.
- When the cross-reference fields are locked, go to File (using the bar at the top) and click on Print.
- Check to see if the Error Reference Source Not Found message has gone away once the document has been printed.
What is causing the Error Reference Source Not Found an error?
We looked into this by looking at different user reports and the most common ways to fix or get around this problem. Based on what we’ve learned from our research, there are several things that could cause this error message:
- Cross-referenced bookmark has been deleted: This error message usually appears when a cross-referenced bookmark has been deleted. If this is the case, you can fix the problem by unlocking the affected fields and bringing them back to a good state by hand or with a third-party tool. You can also lock the fields before printing out the document.
- Corrupted Office installation: Some people have said that the problem can also be caused by a bad Office installation. When this happens, this error message is caused by cross-reference fields that are in good shape. In this case, you can fix the problem by fixing the way Office was installed.