Imagine that you have been working with a document for a very long time in Microsoft Word, gaining a scientific paper or a large report. Depending on the type of work, your file may take tens or even hundreds of pages! When this document is large, it can be difficult to remember which page contains what information. Fortunately, Microsoft Word allows you to insert table of contents, making it easy to organize and organize your document.
The table of contents in the editor looks like the list of chapters at the beginning of the book. It lists each section of the document and the page number where it starts.
Manually or automatically?
Speaking about how to make a table of contents in Word 2007, you can create it manually by entering the section names and page numbers, but this will take a long time. In addition, if you ever decide to change your sections or add more information, you will have to update everything manually again and again. However, if formatted correctly, Word can create and update the table of contents automatically.
Version 2007 will be used in this manual to show how to make a table of contents in Word 2007, but you can use the same method in Word 2010 or Word 2013.
Step 1: Apply Header Styles
Even non-advanced users of the editor know that it is easy to add professional text formatting to various parts of the document. But styles also serve another important purpose: adding additional organization and structure to the document.
If you apply a heading style, you tell the program that you started a new part of the document. If you insert an automatic table of contents in 2007 Word, it will create sections for each heading.
To apply a heading style, select the text you want to format, then select the desired heading in the Styles group on the Home tab.
Step 2: Word 2007 - How to Make a Table of Contents
Once you have applied the heading styles, you can insert your table of contents in just a few clicks. Go to the “Links” tab on the ribbon, and then click “Link Table” - “Table of Contents”. Select the embedded table from the menu that appears by clicking, and the content will appear in your document.
This action calls the "Table" in the dialog box, where you can select the options:
- "Show page numbers." Clear this check box if you want the table of contents to show the outline of the document, but not the page numbers.
- "Align Right." Uncheck this box if you want page numbers to be placed right next to the corresponding text, and not in the right field.
- "Main table". Use this drop-down list to modify or delete the dashed line that connects each table of contents entry to the page number.
- "Formats". Use this list to select one of several predefined table of contents formats.
- "Show levels". Use this control to specify which header levels to include in the table.
Speaking about how to make a table of contents in Word 2007, you can see that it uses heading styles in the document to determine where each section begins. Sections that begin with the Heading 2 or Heading 3 styles will be included in the Heading 1 style in the same way as a layered list.
The table of contents also creates links for each section, which allows you to navigate to different parts of the document. Just hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard and press go to any section.
Step 3: update as needed
If you intend to edit or add something to a document, you can easily update it. It's as simple as making a table of contents in Word 2007. Just select it, click on the “Update Table of Contents” option, and then select “Refresh entire table” in the dialog that appears. The table of contents will be updated to reflect any changes.