How To Create A Table Of Contents In Word - Effectively Insert And Customize Your TOC, by Sharon Smith on YouTube. 10 min 14 s.
- Video length
- 10 min 14 s
- Time to do it
- 15 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Open your document and find each section title you want listed in the table of contents.
Click a section title, then open the Home tab and apply a Heading style, such as Heading 1 for main sections and Heading 2 for subsections.
Repeat for every heading. Word uses these styles to build the TOC, so do not just make text bold or larger.
Place your cursor where the table of contents should go, usually on its own page near the start.
Go to the References tab, click Table of Contents, and pick a built-in style from the list.
To change the look, click Table of Contents again and choose Custom Table of Contents to set how many heading levels appear and how entries are formatted.
Add page numbers by going to Insert, then Page Number, and choose a position such as Bottom of Page.
To start numbering on a new page, put the cursor before the first line and insert a page break with Ctrl+Enter on Windows or Command+Enter on Mac.
After editing the document, click anywhere in the table of contents and press Update Table, then choose to update page numbers only or the entire table.
Tips and common mistakes
Use the heading styles consistently, because any title without a Heading style will not appear in the TOC.
Update the whole table, not just page numbers, after you add or rename headings.
If a heading is missing, check that it uses a Heading style and not manual bold or larger font.
Save your file before updating a long table of contents in case Word needs a moment to recalculate.
Questions
Why is my heading missing from the table of contents?
It probably does not use a Heading style. Select the text and apply Heading 1 or Heading 2 from the Home tab, then update the table.
Can I change the font and spacing of the table of contents?
Yes. Use Custom Table of Contents under References, or edit the TOC styles in the Styles pane to change fonts, spacing and indents.
Do the page numbers update automatically?
No. After you add or remove content, right-click the table and choose Update Field, or click Update Table on the References tab.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
