To make an automatic table of contents in Word, format your section titles with the built-in Heading styles, click where the contents should appear, then choose References > Table of Contents and select an Automatic Table. Word builds the list from those headings. After you edit the document, update the table so its entries and page numbers stay current.
Make a table of contents in desktop Word
- Mark the sections. Select each main section title and choose Home > Styles > Heading 1. Use Heading 2 for sections within a Heading 1 section, and Heading 3 only when needed. Making text bold or larger without applying a Heading style will not reliably put it in the automatic table.
- Place the insertion point. Click near the beginning of the document where readers should see the table, usually after the title page. If the list needs its own page between the cover and the document body, follow our contents-page layout guide for the page breaks.
- Insert the table. Choose References > Table of Contents, then an Automatic Table design. Word lists your styled headings and their page numbers.
- Check the result. If a section is missing, apply the right Heading style in the document and update the table. Adjust heading levels in the document if a subsection appears at the wrong level.
- Update before sharing. After changing headings or moving text, click in the table and choose References > Update Table. Choose Update entire table when heading text or sections changed. Choose Update page numbers only only when the headings are unchanged.
Legal briefs usually need a table of authorities too, which Word builds from marked citations rather than headings. See how to create a table of authorities in Word.
Example: plan the headings before inserting the table
Suppose a report has Introduction, Methods, and Results as its main sections. Apply Heading 1 to those three lines. If Methods contains Participants and Procedure, apply Heading 2 to those subsection titles. The automatic table should show the three main entries, with Participants and Procedure indented beneath Methods. If Procedure appears at the same level as Methods, fix its style in the body of the document and update the entire table.
You do not need to create the list by typing section names and page numbers. Word generates those from the styled document headings. A book-style index is a different feature: it lists terms and their page references rather than the document’s section hierarchy.
These commands follow Microsoft’s table of contents instructions and its update guidance. Menus can look a little different across Word versions, but the Heading styles and References tab are the key controls.
Make one in Word for the web
Apply Heading styles to your section titles, place the cursor where the list belongs, then choose References > Insert Table of Contents. If you change the document, right-click the table and select Update Table of Contents. Microsoft’s Word for the web instructions show this path separately from desktop Word.
If the table is blank or missing sections
First check the source headings. Select a missing section title and apply Home > Styles > Heading 1 or the appropriate lower Heading level. Then update the entire table. A Manual Table design uses placeholder entries rather than your document headings, so choose an Automatic Table if you want Word to build and update the list for you. Do not type corrections directly into an automatic table; change the heading in the document and refresh the table instead.
Set the number of levels and appearance
If the contents list includes too many small subsections, go to References > Table of Contents > Custom Table of Contents in desktop Word and reduce Show levels. The same dialog lets you show or hide page numbers, align them, and choose a tab leader such as dots. These display settings are separate from the Heading styles applied to the actual document sections. Keep the document’s heading hierarchy meaningful even when the contents list shows fewer levels.
To change how entries look, use Modify in the Custom Table of Contents dialog and edit the appropriate TOC style. If Modify is unavailable, choose From template under Formats first. Formatting an individual generated entry by hand is unreliable because an update can rebuild the list. Microsoft explains the custom table of contents controls.
After the final edit, update the entire table, not just page numbers, if any heading was added, removed, or renamed. Scan the entries for a missing heading, an unexpected level, and a page number that does not match Print Preview. If you will share a PDF, open the exported file and test a few contents links there as well as in Word.
Customize or remove it
Word’s table of contents options can change the appearance, number of levels, and page-number leaders. Make those adjustments through the Table of Contents controls so they remain consistent when you update. To remove the table, choose References > Table of Contents > Remove Table of Contents, as described in Microsoft’s removal instructions.
If a new section is missing after you insert the table, follow our guide to adding a heading to an existing table of contents. For a focused walkthrough on making entries jump to their headings, see our linked table of contents guide.
Long reports often need an alphabetical index at the back as well; see how to make an index page in Word.
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