How to Insert a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word (Windows and Mac)
As a part of the Office redesign, Microsoft revamped the Word app on the desktop. Follow the steps below to insert a table of contents in Microsoft Word on your desktop. The steps are similar for Windows and Mac.
Step 1: Open the Microsoft Word app.
Step 2: Select a document to insert a table of contents.
Step 3: Select the References tab at the top.
Step 4: Select Table of Contents from the left corner.
Step 5: Click on Headings style.
You can add a manual table of contents or select an automatic one. The Word software will take headings from your document and create one in the automatic table of contents.
If you want to type headings manually, select the third manual table from the list. We are going ahead with an automatic one, as we have already added headings to the document.
The table of contents appears in the document with page numbers.
As you continue working on the document, you might add new headings. The default table of contents won’t update itself automatically here. You need to hover the mouse over it and select Update Table from a small pop-up menu.
Pro Tip: You can insert other elements like signatures or spreadsheets on Microsoft Word.
How to Customize Table of Contents in Microsoft Word
If you don’t like the default table of contents style, you can easily customize it based on your preference. Here’s how.
Step 1: From the Word document, select References and expand the table of contents menu.
Step 2: Select Custom Table of Contents from the menu.
Step 3: You can disable page numbers, change tab leader, customize the formats menu, and more.
From the same menu, you can see the live web table of content previews. Users can also disable hyperlinks. Make changes based on your needs and hit OK at the bottom.
You will see an option to update the existing table of contents with a new style. Click Yes to create a new custom table of contents in Microsoft Word.
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Last updated on 23 August, 2024
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