Assume you’re working with Microsoft Word on a lengthy project, such as an academic paper or a large report. It might be dozens or even hundreds of pages lengthy, depending on the project! It might be tough to recall which page contains which information when a document is this extensive.
A table of contents is similar to a chapter list at the beginning of a book. It specifies each segment of the text as well as the page number on which it begins.
You could make a table of contents entirely manually, by putting in the section titles and page numbers, but it would take a long time. And if you decide to rearrange your parts or add extra material, you’ll have to redo everything.
Word, on the other hand, can automatically construct and update a table of contents with the proper formatting.
Microsoft Word can generate a Table of Contents for you.
You merely need to outline the material before specifying the header styles with basic formatting. Let’s take it one step at a time.
1). Apply Heading Style
When you use a heading style, you’re notifying Word that you’ve begun a new section of your document. When you input the table of contents, a section will be created for each heading.
Heading Styles should be applied to each chapter in your manuscript. You’re highlighting the section headings so Word can recognize them.
Navigate to the Ribbon > Home > Styles menu. Select the text and use headings to include it in the table of contents.
Using the heading styles, you may establish a hierarchy inside the main chapters. For new sections or chapters, for example, use Heading 1. Heading 2 is for subsections inside a section while Heading 3 is for smaller units or themes within those subsections.
Word searches the document for text structured as Heading 1, 2, or 3 and then utilizes these to construct the TOC format.
2). Insert Table of Contents
Place the cursor at the point in your document where you wish the TOC to appear. This is usually at the beginning of the document.
Navigate to the Ribbon > References > Table of Contents menu. Select one of the two available automated kinds. The sole difference between the two is the top heading “Contents” or “Table of Contents.”
The Table of Contents is automatically generated. Word scans the text and employs heading styles to determine the sequence of sections and subsections, as well as their page numbers. This is a basic TOC, and you may work with it to make it more presentable.
3. Update as Needed
It’s simple to update the table of contents whenever you make changes to your document. Simply choose the table of contents, click Update Table, and then select Update Entire Table in the resulting dialogue box. Any modifications will then be reflected in the table of contents.
4. Create Table of Contents Manually
Why would you want to build one manually when the automated way is so simple? There might be two explanations for this:
- The document has no styles that Word cannot recognize.
- The document’s diversity makes an automated TOC challenging.
To make a manual table, go to References > Table of Contents > Select Manual Table from the dropdown menu.
Microsoft Word inserts a table of contents with placeholders that you may now alter. You may change the fonts and colors to your liking. Remember that you must also manually enter the page numbers.
A manually built TOC cannot be automatically updated.
Creating a table of contents (TOC) isn’t only for long reports or your next best-seller. It might be used for a basic daily notebook or a school project. You should provide a Table of Contents wherever possible.
Microsoft Word just made things easier.