[Tex/LaTex] How to link images to their entry in list of figures

hyperreflinkspdftextable of contents

Right now I embed images like that:

\begin{figure}[htb]
    \centering 
    \includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{images/some.pdf}
    \caption[Description in LOF, taken from~\cite{source}]{Caption for Image}
    \label{fig:sample_image}
\end{figure}

Using \listoffigures and hyperref this provides a nice list with every entry linked to the image position. As a requirement the source of the image has to be mentioned in the listoffigures it would be convenient to have the images or their caption linked to the matching entry so see the source without scrolling down the whole pdf.

So how do I link images to their entry in list of figures?

Best Answer

If I understood your question correctly, you could use the \hyperlink, \hypertarget mechanism provided by hyperref; a little example:

\begin{filecontents*}{mybib.bib}
@book{goossens93,
    author = "Michel Goossens and Frank Mittlebach and Alexander Samarin",
    title = "The Latex Companion A",
    year = "1993",
    publisher = "Addison-Wesley",
    address = "Reading, Massachusetts"
}    
\end{filecontents*}

\documentclass{article} 
\usepackage[demo]{graphicx}
\usepackage{hyperref}

\newcounter{mycntr}
\makeatletter
\newcommand\LCaption{%
  \stepcounter{mycntr}\@dblarg\@LCaption}
\def\@LCaption[#1]#2{%
  \caption[\protect\hypertarget{image\themycntr}{#1}]%
    {\hyperlink{image\themycntr}{#2}}}
\makeatother

\begin{document}
\listoffigures

\begin{figure}[htb]
    \centering 
    \includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{images/some.pdf}
    \LCaption[Description in LOF, taken from~\cite{goossens93}]{Caption for Image}
    \label{fig:sample_image}
\end{figure}

\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{mybib}

\end{document}

EDIT: I updated my answer with an improved version of \LCaption suggested by egreg. This version works like the original \caption command with respect to a missing optional argument: calling \LCaption{Caption} will write "Caption" also in the list of figures; \LCaption[Short]{Long caption} will write "Short" in the list of figures.

EDIT

If you are also using tocloft, you have to inform tocloft that you want to use your custom titles by passing the option titles when loading it:

\usepackage[titles]{tocloft}

Complete MWE

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[titles]{tocloft}
\usepackage[nottoc,numbib]{tocbibind}

\renewcommand{\listoffigures}{\begingroup
\tocsection
\tocfile{\listfigurename}{lof}
\endgroup}

\makeatletter
\newcommand{\figsourcefont}{\footnotesize}
\newcommand{\figsource}[1]{%
  \addtocontents{lof}{%
    {\leftskip\cftfigindent
     \advance\leftskip\cftfignumwidth
     \rightskip\@tocrmarg
     \figsourcefont#1\protect\par}%
  }%
 }
\makeatother

\begin{document}

\tableofcontents
\newpage

\listoffigures
\newpage

\section{test}

\begin{figure}
    \caption{World Targets in Megadeaths}
    \figsource{BLAND Corporation}
\end{figure}

\end{document}

Output:

enter image description here

Table of Contents – List of Figures and Tables Without Any Figures or Tables

Here is another approach. What it does is to check at the end of the document the values of the figure and table counters, and add to the .aux file a boolean flag setting depending on whether these values are zero or positive.

Then you have on next run \iffigures and \iftables which allow you to act conditionally.

In the code below, perhaps the \global are not really needed, I didn't check.

See also a variant at bottom which does not use the figure/table counters because they might well be reset to zero due to document sectioning (as pointed out by egreg in a comment).

\documentclass[10pt,twocolumn]{article}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage[margin=0.75in]{geometry}
\usepackage{float}
\floatstyle{boxed}

\restylefloat{figure}
\restylefloat{table}

\newif\iffigures
\newif\iftables

\makeatletter
\AtEndDocument {%
    \if@filesw
       \ifnum\value{figure}=\z@ % no figures
          \immediate\write\@mainaux {\global\string\figuresfalse}%
       \else
          \immediate\write\@mainaux {\global\string\figurestrue}%
       \fi
       \ifnum\value{table}=\z@ % no tables
          \immediate\write\@mainaux {\global\string\tablesfalse}%
       \else
          \immediate\write\@mainaux {\global\string\tablestrue}%
       \fi
    \fi
}
\makeatother 

% for the purpose of testing

% this will make a MWE without tables
\long\def\IGNORE #1\ENDIGNORE{}

% uncomment to make a MWE with tables
% \let\IGNORE\empty
% \let\ENDIGNORE\empty

\begin{document}

\tableofcontents

% 
\iffigures
   \addcontentsline{toc}{section}{List of Figures}
   \listoffigures
\fi

% 
\iftables
   \addcontentsline{toc}{section}{List of Table}
   \listoftables
\fi

\section{First section}
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\begin{figure}[H]\centering
\LaTeX\LaTeX
\caption{my figure}
\end{figure}
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\begin{figure}[H]\centering
\LaTeX\TeX
\caption{another figure}
\end{figure}
\section{Second section}
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\IGNORE
\begin{table}[H]\centering
\TeX\LaTeX
\caption{my table}
\end{table}
\ENDIGNORE
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\IGNORE
\begin{table}[H]\centering
\TeX\TeX
\caption{another table}
\end{table}
\ENDIGNORE
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\end{document}

Here is for a document with figures but no tables:

without tables

And if tables are present:

with tables

Three compilations needed.

Variant. I don't know to what extent patching \figure and \table as here is OK, depends perhaps on float related packages. At the worst I guess doing the patches immediately after \begin{document} should be enough (at the end of preamble might not be enough if some package does stuff during At Begin Document).

\documentclass[10pt,twocolumn]{article}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage[margin=0.75in]{geometry}
\usepackage{float}
\floatstyle{boxed}

\restylefloat{figure}
\restylefloat{table}

\newif\iffigures
\newif\iftables

\makeatletter

\let\OLDfigure\figure
\def\figure {\figures@in@document\OLDfigure }
\let\OLDtable\table
\def\table  {\tables@in@document\OLDtable }

\def\figures@in@document {%
    \immediate\write\@mainaux {\global\string\figurestrue}%
    \global\let\figures@in@document\empty
}

\def\tables@in@document {%
    \immediate\write\@mainaux {\global\string\tablestrue}%
    \global\let\tables@in@document\empty
}

\makeatother

% for the purpose of testing

% this will make a MWE without tables
\long\def\IGNORE #1\ENDIGNORE{}

% uncomment to make a MWE with tables
%\let\IGNORE\empty
%\let\ENDIGNORE\empty

\begin{document}

\tableofcontents

% 
\iffigures
   \addcontentsline{toc}{section}{List of Figures}
   \listoffigures
\fi

% 
\iftables
   \addcontentsline{toc}{section}{List of Table}
   \listoftables
\fi

\section{First section}
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\begin{figure}[H]\centering
\LaTeX\LaTeX
\caption{my figure}
\end{figure}
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\begin{figure}[H]\centering
\LaTeX\TeX
\caption{another figure}
\end{figure}
\section{Second section}
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\IGNORE
\begin{table}[H]\centering
\TeX\LaTeX
\caption{my table}
\end{table}
\ENDIGNORE
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\IGNORE
\begin{table}[H]\centering
\TeX\TeX
\caption{another table}
\end{table}
\ENDIGNORE
\lipsum[\inputlineno]
\end{document}

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] Numbering the list of figures in the table of contents

EDIT

Table of Contents – List of Figures and Tables Without Any Figures or Tables

Related Question