Section 5: Table of Contents
In the section, we will add a table of contents on the Table of Contents section of your document.
Scroll down to the Table of Contents page created earlier in this program. This should be the fourth page of your document.
Click after the word ‘Contents’ to place the cursor after the letter ‘s’, and then press the Enter key to create a new line. The cursor is now on the line below the heading of this page.
With the cursor on its own line below the Table of Contents heading, open the References ribbon, click on Table of Contents, and then select Automatic Table 2.
Word will search your document for texts that have either Heading 1, Heading 2 or Heading 3 styles applied to them as shown earlier in this program. These texts will then appear in the automatically generated Table of Contents as the list of contents along with their associated page numbers.
Note that the automated table of contents feature will have also added a heading. If you wish to use your own heading (as we have done earlier in this program), you can delete the Table of Contents heading, which is shown in blue. Place the cursor after the ‘s’ as shown here, and then continue to press the Backspace key until the Table of Contents text has been deleted.
To view your Table of Contents as it will appear when printed, click outside of the Table of Contents area.
As you work on your document, it is important that you remain conscious of the style that you are using while typing your text, particularly with the headings. Remember that the automated table of contents feature will use any texts that have either Heading 1, Heading 2 or Heading 3 styles applied to them to populate the Table of Contents. For texts used in paragraphs, it is typical to use the Normal style.
As you add more content to you document, you will, of course, be adding more pages. When you have completed the first draft of your document, you will need to update your Table of Contents. Do this by clicking anywhere on the Table of Contents, and then clicking on the Update Table… button – the Update Table of Contents dialog box will open. Select the Update entire table option, and then click on the OK button. Your Table of Contents will now be updated.
If you have been following the steps described in this program so far, your Table of Contents will look similar to the one shown here. Remember to update your Table of Contents when you have completed your document.
Follow the link to view ‘Table of Contents’ pdf version.
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