Word Automatic Tables

Lessons

Senior 3 · ICT

Word Automatic Tables

4 lessons

Lesson 2 of 4

Creating and Updating a Table of Contents

40 min

The page every reader opens first

A school's end-of-year report for parents runs to 18 pages: results, sports, clubs, finance, next year's calendar. A parent who only wants the fees opens the contents page, finds “Finance … 14”, and turns to page 14. If that page actually holds the sports results, the report has failed on its first page.

Once a document has heading styles (last lesson), Word can write the contents page itself, with the right page numbers, and correct it in two clicks after every change.

Definition

Table of contents (TOC): a list of a document's headings, in order, each with the page it starts on. In Word an automatic TOC is a field built from the heading styles.

Tab leader: the row of dots (or dashes or a line) that leads the eye from a heading across to its page number.

Hyperlink: text that jumps to another place when clicked. Each line of a Word TOC is a hyperlink to its heading.

Inserting an automatic table of contents

Click where the contents should go, usually on its own page after the cover. Type a page break after it (Ctrl + Enter) if the text below is too close.
Go to References → Table of Contents.
Choose Automatic Table 1 (titled “Contents”) or Automatic Table 2 (titled “Table of Contents”). Do not choose Manual Table: that one has placeholder text you must type yourself, and it never updates.

Word looks for every paragraph in Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3, and lists them with their page numbers. Heading 2 entries are indented under Heading 1, and Heading 3 further still.

Mock-up drawn by Ganzaa, using the booklet from the last lesson. The numbers 1, 1.1, 1.2 come from the multilevel list on the headings.

Updating: the two choices

A TOC does not update by itself while you type. After editing the document, click inside the TOC and choose Update Table (on the TOC's own top edge, or References → Update Table, or press F9). Word asks:

Option	What it changes	Use it when
Update page numbers only	Only the numbers on the right. Entries stay exactly as they are.	Text, photos or tables were added, so headings moved to other pages, but no heading was added, removed or renamed.
Update entire table	Rebuilds every entry from the headings, and their page numbers.	A heading was added, deleted, renamed or changed level. Any formatting typed straight into the TOC is lost.

To follow an entry, hold Ctrl and click it: Word jumps to that heading. In a PDF saved from the document, a plain click on an entry does the same.

Worked example 1: which update?

The finance officer adds a half-page table to page 9 of the parents' report. Headings after it move down a page. → Update page numbers only: the entries are right, only their numbers are stale.
The head teacher renames “Sports” to “Sports and Games” and adds a new Heading 1, “Thank You”. → Update entire table: the TOC must gain a new line and change an old one.
The secretary made “Finance” bold inside the TOC to draw attention, then chose Update entire table. The bold disappeared. Why? The TOC was rebuilt from the headings, so hand edits in it are thrown away. Style the TOC through its own styles (TOC 1, TOC 2 …) instead.

A custom table of contents

References → Table of Contents → Custom Table of Contents… opens a dialog that controls the look and the content:

Show page numbers and Right align page numbers: normally both ticked.
Tab leader: dots, dashes, a solid line, or none.
Formats: From template, Classic, Formal, Modern, Simple and others.
Show levels: how many heading levels to list. The default 3 lists Heading 1 to Heading 3; set 1 for main parts only.
Options…: choose which styles feed the TOC and at which level. Here you can add your own style, for example a style called Story Title, at TOC level 2.

Add Text. To promote one paragraph into the TOC without opening the Styles gallery, click in it and use References → Add Text → Level 1, 2 or 3. Do Not Show in Table of Contents takes a heading out.

Worked example 2: predicting the TOC

A project report has these headings, in order: Introduction (Heading 1), Aim (Heading 2), Method (Heading 1), Materials (Heading 2), Safety (Heading 3), Results (Heading 1). The custom TOC is set to Show levels: 2.

The TOC lists: Introduction, Aim (indented), Method, Materials (indented), Results. Safety is missing because it is level 3, below the limit. Five entries in all. With Show levels 1 it would list only Introduction, Method and Results.

Warning

Common mistakes

Typing over the TOC to correct a heading. The next “Update entire table” brings the old text back. Correct the heading in the document, then update.
Printing a stale TOC. Update the TOC as the very last step before printing or saving a PDF. You can also tick File → Options → Display → Update fields before printing.
A heading missing from the TOC almost always means the paragraph is in Normal style with bold added by hand. Apply the heading style, then update the entire table.
The contents page listing itself. If the word “Contents” has Heading 1, it appears in its own list. Use the TOC Heading style (the automatic tables do) or the Title style for it.

thelifeofawriter: how to create a table of contents in Microsoft Word, from heading styles to the finished table. Notice the heading styles are applied before the table is inserted.

Tip

Using LibreOffice Writer? Insert → Table of Contents and Index → Table of Contents, Index or Bibliography, check that the type is Table of Contents, and click OK. To update, right-click the table → Update Index, or Tools → Update → Update All.

✦

Hands-on: contents for the clubs booklet

Open Clubs_Booklet.docx from the last lesson.

Click on page ii under the word “Contents”. Delete that word, then insert Automatic Table 1. Check that every club and every “What we do” and “How to join” appears.
Hold Ctrl and click “How to join” under the second club. Where does the cursor land?
Add a fourth club, “Music Club”, as Heading 1 at the end, with two Heading 2 sections. Look at the TOC: it has not changed yet. Now Update Table → Update entire table.
Insert a picture or a few paragraphs at the start of the first club, so the later clubs move down a page. Which update option is enough now? Use it and check the numbers.
Open Custom Table of Contents. Set Show levels to 1, and the tab leader to dashes. Click OK and accept replacing the table. Write one sentence on when a 1-level TOC is better.
Save the file as a PDF (File → Save As → PDF) and click a TOC entry in the PDF.

Practice

State two advantages of an automatic table of contents over one typed by hand.
What must be done to a document before an automatic TOC can list its headings?
Write the steps to insert an automatic TOC in Word.
A pupil adds three photos to a report. No heading text changes. Which update option should she choose, and why?
A document has headings at levels 1, 2, 3 and 4. With the default settings, which levels appear in the TOC? How would you include level 4?
After choosing “Update entire table”, Mugisha's TOC lost the red colour he had given one entry. Explain why, and how he could make all level-1 entries red so that it lasts.
A report's TOC shows “Conclusion … 12”, but the conclusion is really on page 13. Give two possible reasons.
Your group must hand in a 25-page report as a printed copy and as a PDF. Plan the order of the last four jobs: update the TOC, final proofread, print, save as PDF. Justify the order.

Show answersHide answers

Any two: page numbers are always right after updating; it is built in seconds; entries are hyperlinks; changing a heading changes the TOC on update; it keeps the same look.
Every heading must have a heading style (Heading 1, 2, 3 …) or be added with Add Text.
Click where the TOC should go → References → Table of Contents → Automatic Table 1 (or 2).
Update page numbers only: the headings are unchanged, only the pages they start on have moved.
Levels 1, 2 and 3 (Show levels is 3 by default). Custom Table of Contents → Show levels: 4.
Update entire table rebuilds the TOC from the headings, so formatting typed into it is lost. Modify the TOC 1 style (via Custom Table of Contents → Modify, or the Styles pane) and set its colour to red.
The TOC was not updated after text was added before the conclusion; or the TOC was updated, then more text was added; (also possible: the document was printed with a stale TOC).
Final proofread first (it may change text and page breaks) → update the TOC (entire table, so all entries and numbers are final) → save as PDF → print. Updating before the proofread risks stale numbers; saving the PDF and printing come last so both show the same final version.

Sources and credits

Table of contents, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
Steps checked against Insert a table of contents, Microsoft Support (facts only).
Video: How To Create A Table Of Contents In Microsoft Word, thelifeofawriter, embedded from YouTube.
The mock-up, update table, worked examples, hands-on task and practice items were written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1The page every reader opens first

2Inserting an automatic table of contents

3Updating: the two choices

4A custom table of contents

5Hands-on: contents for the clubs booklet

The page every reader opens first

Inserting an automatic table of contents

Updating: the two choices

A custom table of contents

Hands-on: contents for the clubs booklet