To give a Word document its own contents page, put a page break after the cover, insert an automatic table of contents on the new page, and start the document body on another page. Word builds the list from Heading styles in the body. A page break controls placement; the automatic table controls entries and page numbers.
Set up the page before inserting the table
- Mark the body headings. Apply Home > Styles > Heading 1 to main sections and Heading 2 to subsections. Bold or enlarged text alone may not appear in an automatic contents list.
- Start a new page after the cover. Click at the boundary between the title page and the first body section. Choose Insert > Page Break. In desktop Word, Ctrl+Enter on Windows or Command+Return on Mac is an alternative. Avoid pressing Enter repeatedly to force the next page; those blank paragraphs can shift as you edit.
- Give the page a label if you want one. Type Contents above the list and format it as a title or ordinary paragraph. Do not give it a Heading style that your table displays, or the contents page can list itself.
- Place the cursor beneath that label and choose References > Table of Contents, then an Automatic Table design. Word inserts the headings and current page numbers.
- Start the body after the contents list. If the first chapter or introduction runs onto the same page, put the cursor at its beginning and insert a page break there. The result should read cover page, contents page, then the first body page.
For example, a report might have a cover, a contents page, then Introduction, Methods, and Results as Heading 1 sections. Put the first page break after the cover, insert the automatic table on that new page, and put the next break before Introduction. If Methods includes Participants as Heading 2, it should appear indented under Methods. Check the document in Print Layout before sharing.
Update the page after you edit the document
Adding sections or moving text can change both entries and page numbers. Click in the table and choose References > Update Table in desktop Word, or right-click it and choose Update Field. Select Update entire table if a heading was added, removed, renamed, or moved to another level. Update page numbers only is for unchanged headings whose pagination moved. Then inspect the contents page again: a longer list might now flow onto another page.
If the page numbers appear wrong, update the table after all edits, then compare a few entries with the actual headings in Print Layout. If a section is missing, inspect its Heading style in the body and update the entire table. A table configured to show only two levels will omit Heading 3 entries even when those headings are styled correctly.
If you see an extra blank page
Show Word’s formatting marks so you can locate page breaks and empty paragraphs. Check whether you inserted two breaks at the same boundary or left many empty paragraphs between the cover, contents, and body. Remove only the unwanted break or paragraphs, then update the table because pagination may change. A section break has a different job: use one when the following part needs its own page-numbering or header/footer setup. A simple contents page usually only needs page breaks for placement.
Check the finished page
Look at the start of the document in Print Layout or Print Preview. Confirm that the cover stands alone, the Contents label and list begin on the next page, and the first body heading begins after the list. If the list spans two pages, let it flow naturally and make sure the body still starts after it. Test a main-section entry and a nested entry in the saved Word file. If you export a PDF, open that PDF and check the page breaks, page numbers, and a few contents links there too.
When the first body page needs to display page number 1 or a different header, that is a separate numbering and section-layout task. Check those settings after the contents page is placed; a page break by itself does not restart numbering. For a cover and contents page before body page 1, follow our later-page numbering guide.
Automatic table versus a typed list
A Manual Table of Contents design supplies placeholder text. It does not rebuild entries from headings when you revise the document. Choose an Automatic Table if the report will change. You can still adjust how that automatic list looks: our formatting guide covers visible levels, dot leaders, and TOC styles. The full creation guide covers heading setup and missing entries in more detail.
Word for the web also offers References > Insert Table of Contents. The layout of its controls can differ from desktop Word. Microsoft’s instructions cover page breaks, automatic tables of contents, and updating the list.
Matt has been writing about Microsoft Windows and other Microsoft products since the days of Windows XP. He spends much of his time writing for sites like WindowBrain.com