How to cross-reference chapter as section

Question

I am using cleveref to cross-reference my thesis. When I use \Cref to reference chapter 1, in the text it appears as "Chapter 1". I was wondering if there I still use the chapter structure for the main text, but the cross-reference in the text will show as "Section 1" instead.

Answer 1

If the name substitution is supposed to be global, you could employ the \crefalias device to achieve your objective. E.g.,

Asisde: I assume you are well aware of the fact that your readers may get confused if "chapters" are referred to as "sections."

\documentclass{report}
\usepackage{cleveref}
\crefalias{chapter}{section}

\begin{document}
\refstepcounter{chapter}\label{ch:1}
\refstepcounter{chapter}\label{ch:2}
Cross-references to \cref{ch:1,ch:2}.
\end{document}

---

If, on the other hand, the name substitution is supposed to apply to just a subset of chapters, e.g., the second chapter, you could set an optional argument for \label instruction associated with the chapter in question.

\documentclass{report}
\usepackage{cleveref}

\begin{document}
\refstepcounter{chapter}\label{ch:1}
\refstepcounter{chapter}\label[section]{ch:2}

Cross-references to \cref{ch:1,ch:2}.
\end{document}

Answer 2

You can use \crefname to globally redefine the "name" used by cleveref:

Here's the code:

\documentclass{book}
\usepackage{cleveref}

\crefname{chapter}{section}{sections}

\begin{document}

\chapter{A chapter}\label{C:chapter}

  \Cref{C:chapter}  \cref{C:chapter}

\end{document}