In this post I will show you how to create a table of contents in Word in an automatic way and also how to update it just in a few clicks. You could create a table of contents manually, but it would be a real waste of time. Luckily, Word allows you to create a table of contents, making it easy to refer to the relevant sections of your document, and therefore it is a must-do task for document writers. Depending on the project, it might be dozens or even hundreds of pages long! When you have such a big document with chapters and subchapters it turns out to be very hard to navigate in the document searching for necessary information. It could be an academic paper or a lengthy report. I am sure that everyone who reads this article right now had to deal with a really long document in Microsoft Word at least once in their lives. Also, I’ll show you how to make your document look good using Word’s built-in heading styles and the multilevel list option. Place your cursor where you want to insert the table of contents. You will learn how to insert a table of contents into your document, modify and update it just in a few clicks. If you are a document writer, this article will be very useful for you. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. Your table of contents should be deleted immediately.Learn how to insert, modify, and update a table of contents in your Word document and see how you can use Word’s built-in heading styles and the multilevel list option to make your text look good. How do I insert Table of Contents in Word 2010 from automatically numbered Chapters bred from Style: Heading 1.
Pro Tip: You can also select Update Table in the Table of Contents group in the References tab. Right-click and select Update Field from the shortcut menu.Place your cursor in the table of contents.Instead, you can update your table of contents as you add headings or when the document is complete. Your table of contents won’t automatically update as you add additional headings to your document. Type a title (e.g., Table of Contents or Contents) above your table of contents. Create a Table of Contents (TOC) in Word If it takes you more than a minute to generate a table of contents (TOC) for even the largest, most complex documents, then you have every right to be pulling out your hair by now.Your table of contents should appear in your document. In the example above, I entered 1 across from Heading 2 because I want my table of contents to begin with Heading 2 and exclude Heading 1.įigure 11.
Enter the sequence of the heading levels you want to appear in the TOC level text boxes in the Table of Contents Options dialog box.Select the Options button in the Table of Contents dialog box.However, you can manually include or exclude individual heading levels within your custom table of contents. How to Choose Individual Heading Levels for a Table of Contentsīy default, Word’s tables of contents include text formatted with sequential heading styles (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc.). (Optional Step) Select additional options concerning page numbers and tab leaders, which are the dots, dashes, or lines that appear before the page number.įigure 8.Select the number of levels you want to include in the Show levels menu.(The From Template option is based on the styles established in your current template.) Select a visual style from the Formats menu in the Table of Contents dialog box.Select Custom Table of Contents from the drop-down menu.įigure 5.Select the Table of Contents button (see figure 2).Select the References tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).Pro Tip: The custom table of contents option does not automatically create a title (e.g., Table of Contents or Contents), so be sure to leave a blank line above your cursor where you can enter a title later. Word’s custom tables of contents provide formatting options and allow you to include or exclude specific heading levels.
Built-in table of contents How to Create a Custom Table of Contents Select a built-in table of contents from the drop-down menu.