# How to refer back to equations [duplicate]

I am using  to number my equations in my text. But I normally mention these equations in the further text. E.g., In equation 3 ....

But if I change the former equation number I have to search in the text where I mentioned it.

Is there any way to link those numbers so when I change the equation number it automatically changes the furthers mentions about it in the text?

• For this you must use \label{eq.foo} and then \eqref{eq.foo}. – Sigur Jan 20 '16 at 1:12
• Welcome! \label{<identifier>} and then \ref{<identifier>}. The first in the equation. The second where you want the cross-reference. – cfr Jan 20 '16 at 1:12
• Sorry, but what is this eq.foo? @Sigur – André Gomes Jan 20 '16 at 1:17
• @AndréGomes, it is any nickname for your equations. You can choose just to refer. Use different ones for different equations. – Sigur Jan 20 '16 at 1:20

Something like this?

first is an arbitrary identifier e.g. emc2 or a2o2h2 or whatever will have meaning for you. first is a bad example because the equation might not always be first. While this won't bother LaTeX, it will confuse me!

\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
$$abc\label{first}$$
\ref{first}
\end{document}


If you load amsmath, then you can use \eqref{}:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
$$abc\label{first}$$
\eqref{first}
\end{document}


cleveref is a popular package for cross-referencing of all kinds:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{cleveref}
\begin{document}
$$abc\label{first}$$
\cref{first}
\end{document}


I prefer fancyref:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{fancyref}
\begin{document}
$$abc\label{eq:first}$$
\fref{eq:first}
\end{document}


In this case the eq: part of the identifier tells fancyref what kind of thing is referenced, whereas cleveref tries to figure this out from the context.