Microsoft Word 2011: Create a Table of Contents Creating a Table of Contents for a document can be updated quickly any time you need to add or remove details for it will update page numbers for you. A Table of Contents can also be a quick way for users to maneuver around in the document when saved as a PDF as the user can click on the chapter and get to it quickly, for it becomes a link. In Word, we will insert an automatic table of contents, which relies on heading styles to automatically populate and update the table of contents. So first you will need to add for newly created document or change for an existing document the style for each place you want the Title to appear in a chapter in your Table of Contents. 1. In your document, apply heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on) to the text that you want to appear in the table of contents. It has to have a Heading style so that Word can tell it to be added to the Table of Contents. At the end of this tutorial are details on how to Create, Modify or Delete a Style. If you do not see the heading style that you want, on the Home tab, under Styles, point to a style. Click the drop down arrow to see all styles. Tip: To prevent the document title from appearing in the table of contents, do not use Heading 1 for the title. Apply the Title style, Book Title style, or another style to the title instead of a heading style. 1. Once your document has all the Styles applied, click where you want to insert the table of contents. If you want the Table of Contents on the first page then add a page to the beginning of your document. Put your cursor at the location you want the Table of Contents to be inserted into. Tip: If you want to put the table of contents on a separate page or use different page numbers for the table of contents than the rest of the document, put the table of contents in a separate section by adding section breaks before and after the table of contents. 2. On the Insert menu, click on Index and Tables 3. On the Document Elements tab, under Table of Contents, click the table of contents design that you want. Click OK. 1
Change the number of levels in the table of contents By default, a table of contents has three heading levels. However, you can increase or decrease the number of levels that show in the table of contents. 1. On the Document Elements tab, under Table of Contents, click Options. 2. On the Table of Contents tab, in the Show levels box, enter the number of levels that you want to show (up to 9), and then click OK. If you are prompted to replace the selected table of contents, click Yes. Update after changes to a document You can update the table of contents if you make changes to your document. You can update either the whole table of contents or page numbers only. 1. Hold down CONTROL key, click the table of contents, and then click Update Field. 2
Select Update entire table and click OK. Delete a table of contents 1. Click the table of contents. 2. On the frame that appears, click the arrow next to Table of Contents, and then click Remove Table of Contents from the shortcut menu. Customize the formatting for the table of contents You can change the style for each level of the table of contents to suit your needs. For example, if your style sheet requires different formatting for the table of contents than what is provided in built-in templates, you can change font style, indentation, tab leader dots, and other attributes. 1. On the Document Elements tab, under Table of Contents, click Options. Tip: To change tab leader dots, on the Tab leader pop-up menu, click the style that you want. 2. On the Table of Contents tab, click Modify. 3. In the Styles box, click the table of contents level that you want to change. (Click Modify, and then make the changes that you want to font, font size, font color, and so on. 3
To change indents, paragraph spacing, and other attributes, on the Format pop-up menu, click the kind of change that you want, use the pop-up menus to select your options, and then click OK. Tip: To change capitalization, on the Format pop-up menu, click Font, and then clear the Small caps or All caps check box. 4. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each level of the table of contents, and then click Apply. 5. When the Preview box correctly shows the styles that you want, click OK. Create, Modify or Delete a Style Create a style You can create a style by defining all the settings yourself, or you can save time by modifying an existing style to create a new style. 1. On the Home tab, under Styles, click Manage the styles that are used in the document. 2. Click New Style. 3. In the Name box, type a name for the new style. 4. Select the options that you want, or click the Format pop-up menu to see additional options. 4
Tip: To use formatted text as the basis of a new style, select the text before you click New Style. The New Style dialog box will open with all the attributes of the selected text already specified, and you only need to type a new name for the style. Modify a Style In Word, you can modify any style to suit your needs. 1. On the Home tab, in the Styles find the style you want to modify, click Manage the styles that are used in the document icon. 2. In the Current style of selected text: choose Modify Style. 3. You can then edit various properties and be sure to check the box for Add to Quick Style List. Click OK. 5
Delete a Style In Word, you can delete any style that you create, but you can't delete any of the built-in styles included with Word. When you delete a style, Word applies the Normal style to all paragraphs that were formatted with the deleted style and removes the deleted style's definition from the styles list. 1. On the Home tab, under Styles, click Manage the styles that are used in the document icon.. 2. Under Pick a style to apply, point to the style that you want to delete, click next to the style, and then click Delete. 6