How To Make A Table Of Contents On Word

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When you're creating or editing a long document, you lot'll probably have to create a tabular array of contents. That might sound like a chore, but fortunately, you tin practice it in just a few clicks. Then, if you lot change the certificate, Word can update the table of content instantly.

Best of all, Discussion includes hyperlinks to the various sections in your table of contents, so it isn't merely a visual assistance for printed documents, but information technology'southward also perfect to brand piece of cake-to-browse online documents and PDFs with.

Creating the tabular array of contents in Word itself is simple, but the tricky office is getting information technology to work the style you lot want. In this tutorial, I'll show you everything you lot demand to make a elementary, auto-generated table of contents, and then go it to look the way you lot want in every version of Microsoft Word.

How to Make a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word (Screencast)

You lot can follow forth using your own document, or if you prefer, download the zip file included for this tutorial. It contains a document calledThe Age of Einstein.docx, which is a public domain physics textbook (credit to the author, Professor Frank W.Thou. Firk).

Scout the video screencast above or follow the written tutorial instructions below for more particular on how to make a tabular array of contents in Give-and-take.

Creating Your Table of Contents in Give-and-take

There are a few ways of creating a table of contents in Word, only just two that you'll ever use

Create them automatically from built-in styles
Create them from your custom styles

These methods work mostly the same in Windows and Mac versions of Microsoft Give-and-take.

Using MS Word built-in styles is the fastest and well-nigh mutual technique, and using custom styles takes only a trivial more work. Sometimes, you'll want to use both techniques in the same document. Once you have a table of contents (TOC) in a document, y'all can format it with its own styles. You don't desire to format the TOC like regular text, because the formatting can easily get wiped out.

How the Textbook is Organized

Before doing anything to the document, let'south see how it's organized. Page 1 is the title, page 2 is blank and will hold the table of contents, page 3 is the preface, and subsequently that comes the text. Equally you lot coil down, notice that headings and subheadings are formatted.

Formatted headings and subheadings in Word — The textbook as level 1, 2 and iii headings.

The all-time way to see the structure of the document is with the Navigation Pane. (In some versions of Give-and-take for Mac, it may be called the Document Map Pane.)

In Windows, go to the View tab, so click the check box to enable the Navigation Pane.

Navigation Pane in the Windows version — The Word Navigation Pane is a great way of looking through a certificate.

On the Mac, click the Sidebar option to testify the drib-down menu. Click the pointer next to the option and click Navigation. (On older versions of the Mac software, the option is called Document Map Pane .)

Navigation option in the Mac version — On the Mac, apply Sidebar > Navigation to navigate through a document.

On your Mac or PC, go back to the Dwelling house tab if you're not already at that place. Proceed your center on the Styles box on the ribbon, and click the items in the pane to navigate through the book.

Find that the items with whole numbers – like 2. Agreement the Physical Universe – are formatted as Heading ane, and items with decimals – like 2.i Reality and Pure Thought – are formatted as Heading 2. In that location are as well a few decimal items – like 4.5 Infinite Travel – that are formatted as Heading 3.

Tip : when creating a document, the shortcuts for applying the Heading 1, 2 and 3 styles are Ctrl-Alt-ane , Ctrl-Alt-2 , and Ctrl-Alt-three (and Command-Opt-1 , Command-Opt -2 , and Command-Opt-3 on the Mac).

Generating a Table of Contents Using Congenital-In Header Styles in Word

Give-and-take tin can now turn those Heading styles into table of contents entries. Click at the pinnacle of folio 2. ( Tip : in Windows, press Ctrl-G , type two , then press Enter . On the Mac, press Command-Opt-G , blazon 2 , then press Return .)

In Windows, go to the References tab on the ribbon, click the Table of Contents button on the left, so choose one of the ii built-in tables from the listing. Note that the thumbnails show that Headings 1, 2 and 3 will be included.

It'south almost the same on the Mac. Go to the Insert menu, cull Index and Tables, so pick ane of the formats on the left and click OK. This dialog box also shows that Headings 1-3 will be included.

Choosing a built-in table of contents in Word — Yous can insert a table of contents in Word simply past clicking one of the samples. (Case shown is on Windows.)

As soon equally y'all choose i, the tabular array of contents gets inserted starting on page 2, and Word automatically inserts a couple of more pages, so it all fits. In Windows, you lot tin Ctrl-click i of the items, and it volition hyperlink to the item in the document.

MS Word table of contents with automatic hyphens — A table of contents is a field that you tin update in MS Word. In Windows, fields accept a grey groundwork.

This works slap-up, but in that location'due south one problem. Before the Introduction, there is a Preface that should be included in the table of contents. And but before Appendix A1 is the heading for the Appendix, and that should also be included. But they weren't, because they're both formatted with a custom style chosen Big heading, and custom styles don't get included in the default table of contents. The second method of creating table of contents in Word will fix that.

Creating a Table of Contents From Custom Styles in Word

Word can include any styles in a table of contents. We only have to tell it which ones to choose. And we can update the table, rather than having to delete it and start over.

In Windows, go back to the References tab, click the Table of Contents push button, then almost the bottom of the menu, cull Custom Tabular array of Contents. Click the Options button near the bottom of the dialog box to display the Table of Contents Options dialog box.

On the Mac, go to back to the Insert card and cull Index and Tables. In the Table of Contents section, click the Options button.

On the Mac or PC the Table of Contents Options dialog box shows that the Heading 1 style will take TOC level one, the Heading 2 style volition have TOC level 2, and the Heading 3 mode will accept TOC level iii.

Options dialog box showing heading styles — Word uses its born styles to determine what goes into the table of contents. (Windows example)

Curlicue down to the bottom of the list (on the Mac, yous'll use the down slider). Then, in the box for Large heading, type a 1 to make it level 1. Table of Content levels can come from more than than one mode.

Custom styles in the Headings dialog box in Word — To include a custom way in the table of contents, assign a heading level to it.

Click OK in the Tabular array of Contents Options dialog, then OK again in the Table of Contents dialog box. When Word displays a bulletin request if you desire to replace the table, cull Aye. The Preface and Appendix are at present both included in the table of contents.

MS Word table of contents that includes custom styles — After adding custom styles to the TOC list, text formatted with those styles will appear in the table.

Manually Updating the Table of Contents in Word

In that location are other times when y'all'll desire to update the table manually. This is handy when yous change the text of 1 of the headings and want the change reflected in the table of contents.

Scroll downwardly to the folio with the preface. At the top of the page replace PREFACE with Forrad. Make sure it nevertheless uses the Big heading fashion.

Go back to the pinnacle of the table of contents and click in it. Note that information technology has a gray background; that means information technology's a field, and fields can usually be updated.

Click the Update Table push either on the TOC itself (that button doesn't always announced) or on the References tab, and the first entry changes to FORWARD. (On the Mac, correct-click the table and choose Update Field from the pop-upwardly carte. Cull the Update entire tabular array pick and click OK.)

MS Word table of contents after editing document text — Update the table of contents with either of the **Update Table** buttons or by right-clicking on the table and selecting Update field. (Windows case shown here.)

At present that the table of contents displays the right text, we can apply nicer formatting though.

How to Modify Table of Contents Styles in Word

Each heading level of the table of contents has its ain way that's automatically practical. All we have to do is change the formatting of the styles to change the tabular array's appearance, here'southward how:

In Windows, in the References tab of the ribbon, click again on the Table of Contents button and choose Custom Table of Contents, near the bottom. In the Table of Contents dialog box, click Modify.
On the Mac, click Insert > Index and Tables. On the left side, cull From Template, then click Modify. Everything else works the same fashion as in Windows.
In the Tabular array of Contents dialog box, click Modify, and another dialog box appears, showing style names and formatting for the TOC heading levels. Select TOC 1.
Click the Modify button just beneath it, and the Manner dialog box appears. (On the Mac, it'due south called the Properties dialog box.)

Modify Styles dialog box in Word — Utilise the **Manner** dialog box in Word to choose the heading levels you desire to format.

Format the style with Arial or Helvetica, 12 points, bold. So click OK.

Edit the Styles dialog box for changing heading appearance — Modify the way of a TOC particular is the same equally modifying the style of any other text in Word.

Repeat for the TOC 2 style, and set up it to Arial or Helvetica, 12 points, normal.
Echo for the TOC 3 way, and set it to Arial or Helvetica, 11 points, normal.

The table of contents should now look like this:

MS Word table of contents after applying new style formatting — Later on editing the table of contents styles and updating the table, yous'll see the new formatting.

Conclusion

When y'all have a long document, you don't have to fear creating a table of contents. Whether you lot're using Windows or a Mac, y'all tin insert i in simply a few clicks, then use the same dialog box to modify the formatting.

As you learned in this table of contents tutorial, remember not to employ formatting directly to the table, because it tin become wiped out if you supplant it. If you lot make any changes to the Word document itself, remember to click the superlative of the TOC and update it. Leave a comment beneath if you have any problem making or tweaking your table of contents.

To larn more about working with Microsoft Word, written report the following tutorials:

Editorial Notation: This post was originally published in 2014. It has been comprehensively revised to brand information technology electric current, accurate, and upwardly to appointment by our staff—with special assistance from Laura Spencer.

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Bob Flisser

Bob Flisser has authored many videos and books near Microsoft and Adobe products, and has been a figurer trainer since the 1980s. He is besides a web and multimedia developer. Bob is a graduate of The George Washington University with a caste in fiscal economics.