Tweaking the appearance of a \label

Question

I have a label that references what is currently section 1.4. Can I tweak either the \ref or \label so that it appears as 4 (i.e. only the subsection number) when reffed?

Answer 1

Assuming you're sure that your reference have the form m.n, then the following code

\usepackage{refcount}
\newcommand\subsecref[1]{%
  \edef\temp{\getrefnumber{#1}}%
  \ifnum0=\temp ??\else
    \expandafter\eatsection\temp\eatsection
  \fi}
\def\eatsection#1.#2\eatsection{#2}

will do: call \subsecref{label}.

It's more complicated if the form of the references is different (say if they are chapter.section.subsection, but not conceptually more difficult.

A less efficient implementation that works also in expansion context is

\usepackage{refcount}
\newcommand\subsecref[1]{%
  \ifnum0=\romannumeral-`0\getrefnumber{#1}??%
  \else
    \expandafter\eatsection\romannumeral-`0\getrefnumber{#1}\eatsection
  \fi}
\def\eatsection#1.#2\eatsection{#2}