Generate a Table of Contents

You can automatically create a table of contents that updates as you update your document. Table of contents entries can come from headings in your document or from text you mark to appear in the table of contents.

This section uses text styled as Heading 1 and Heading 2 to create table of contents entries.

1. Toward the top of the document, create a separate page for the table of contents.

   Note 

   See the section “Insert a Page Break” for details.

2. Place the insertion point on a blank line below the page title.

3. Click Insert.

4. Click Reference.

5. Click Index and Tables.

   

   The Index and Tables dialog box appears.

6. Click the Table of Contents tab.

   This area shows a preview of the table of contents.

   These options control the appearance of page numbers.

   

7. Click here and select a format for the table of contents.

   Word updates the preview of the table of contents based on your selection.

   You can click here to control the number of heading styles Word includes in the table of contents.

8. Click OK.

   

   Word inserts a table of contents into your document.

   

How do I update the table of contents if I find typographical errors or add more text to the document?

You should correct typographical errors in the body of the document, not in the table of contents. After changing your document, click anywhere in the table of contents; the text appears highlighted in gray. Press and select the option to update page numbers only or both text and page numbers and click OK.