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Everyone's an Author With Readings Table of Contents

If you are a document writer, this article volition be very useful for you. You volition learn how to insert a tabular array of contents into your document, modify and update information technology just in a few clicks. Also, I'll prove yous how to make your document look skilful using Word'south built-in heading styles and the multilevel list option.

I am certain that anybody who reads this article right now had to deal with a really long certificate in Microsoft Word at least once in their lives. It could be an academic paper or a lengthy report. Depending on the project, it might be dozens or even hundreds of pages long! When you have such a big document with capacity and subchapters it turns out to be very hard to navigate in the document searching for necessary information. Luckily, Word allows you to create a tabular array of contents, making information technology like shooting fish in a barrel to refer to the relevant sections of your certificate, and therefore it is a must-practise chore for certificate writers.

You could create a table of contents manually, simply information technology would exist a real waste product of fourth dimension. Let Word do it automatically for you!

In this post I volition bear witness y'all how to create a table of contents in Word in an automatic way and also how to update it just in a few clicks. I'll utilise Discussion 2013, but you tin can use exactly the same method in Word 2010 or Word 2007.

  • Brand your document look good
  • Creating a basic table of contents
  • Change your table of contents
  • Update a table of contents

Brand your document look skillful

Heading Styles

The key to creating a quick and easy contents page is to apply Word'due south built-in heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) for the titles (chapters) and subtitles (subchapters) of your certificate. Don't worry if you haven't used them nonetheless, I will show y'all how it works with regular text.

  • Highlight the championship or the text you lot want to be the championship of your first main section
  • Get to the Abode tab in the Ribbon
  • Search for the Styles group
  • Cull Heading one from the group

Click Heading1 in the Styles group on the Home tab to apply the Heading 1 style

So now you take assigned the commencement main section of your document. Continue it up! Go on scrolling through the text and selecting the chief section titles. Apply the "Heading 1" style to these titles. They will announced in your table of contents equally the principal department titles.

Next, define the secondary sections within each principal chapter, and utilize the "Heading ii" style to the subtitles of these sections.

Click Heading2 to define the subtitles

If you want to place emphasis on some paragraphs inside the secondary sections, then you can select the titles for them and utilise the "Heading 3" style to these titles. You tin too accept reward of the "Heading iv-9" styles for creating additional heading levels.

Multilevel Listing

I desire my tabular array of contents to exist more presentable, so I am going to add together a numbering scheme to the titles and subtitles of my certificate.

  • Highlight the first primary championship.
  • Find the Paragraph grouping on the HOME tab in the Ribbon
  • Click the Multilevel List push in the grouping
  • Select the style from the List Library options

Click the Multilevel List to numerate the titles

Here comes the number of my first main title!

Add numbers to the titles in your contents

Go round for the other main titles, but now when the number appears next to the title, click the lightning box and choose "Continue numbering". It will make the numbers go upwardly.

Click Continue numbering to make the numbers increase

As for the subtitles, highlight one, press the TAB push on your keyboard, and then choose the same Multilevel List choice. It will design the subtitles of the secondary sections with the numbers like i.1, 1.2, ane.three, etc. as in the screenshot beneath. Y'all can as well cull another option then that they expect differently.

Press TAB and add numbering to the subtitles

Keep the ball rolling throughout the certificate for all of your sections. :-)

Why should I use the heading styles?

On the i hand, the heading styles greatly simplify my work and present my document in a structured manner. On the other mitt, when I insert a table of contents, Discussion automatically searches for those headings and displays a table of contents based on the text that I marked with each way. After I can besides utilize these headings to update my table of contents.

Creating a basic table of contents

Now I have my certificate well-prepared with the titles every bit Heading 1 and the subtitles as Heading ii. It'south time to let Microsoft Discussion do its magic!

  • Place the cursor where yous desire the tabular array of contents to appear in the certificate
  • Navigate to the REFERENCES tab in the Ribbon
  • Click the Tabular array of Contents button in the Table of Contents group
  • Choose one of the "Automatic" table of content styles listed

 Click Table of Contents on the References tab to insert a TOC

Here you are! My table of contents looks like this:

The resulting table of contents in Word

A Table of Contents as well creates links for each section, allowing you to navigate to different parts of your certificate. Just hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and click to go to any section.

Hold the Ctrl key and ckick to follow links

Alter your tabular array of contents

If you are not satisfied with the look of your tabular array of contents, you can ever modify root and branch of it. To do so, you demand to open the Table of Contents dialog box.

  • Click inside the table of contents.
  • Go to REFERENCES -> Table of Contents.
  • Select the "Custom Table of Contents..." command from the button's drop-down carte du jour.

The dialog box appears and displays the Table of Contents tab where you tin can customize the style and appearance of your table of contents.

Open the Table of Contents dialog box to customize the style

If you desire to alter the way the text in your table of contents looks (the font, font size, colour, etc.), you need to follow the steps below in the Table of Contents dialog box.

  • Make certain that y'all have called "From Template" in the Formats box
  • Click the Change push at the bottom right to open the following window

The Modify Fashion dialog box displays:

Open the Modify Style dialog box to make changes to the formatting

  • Make changes to the formatting and click OK
  • Select another style to modify and repeat
  • When you lot accept completed the editing, click OK to go out
  • Click OK to replace the table of contents

Update a table of contents

A Table of Contents is a field, not ordinary text. For this reason it doesn't update automatically.

In one case you make any changes to your document structure, y'all have to update the table of contents yourself. To perform the update:

  • Click anywhere in the table of contents
  • Press F9 or the Update Tabular array button in the content control (or on the REFERENCES tab)
  • Use the Update Table of Contents dialog box to choose what to update
  • Click OK

You can choose to update page numbers only, or the unabridged tabular array. Information technology is a proficient idea always to choose "Update entire table" in instance y'all have fabricated any other changes. E'er update your tabular array of contents before sending out or press the document and so that any changes are included.

Open the Update Table of Contents dialog box to choose what to update.

No affair how big your document is, yous can see in that location's zippo complicated about creating a table of contents. The best way to acquire how to create / update a table of contents is to experiment doing it! Take some time to go through the process and create your own table of contents.

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Source: https://www.ablebits.com/office-addins-blog/2013/09/10/create-table-of-contents-word/