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Go to References > Update Table.
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Select one of the following:
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Update page numbers only This only updates the pages that the headings are on, and ignores any changes to the heading text.
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Update entire table This will reflect any updates to the heading text, as well as any page changes.
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Select OK.
Note: Manually created tables (not created automatically from the headings), can’t be updated by Word. You’ll need to manually type your changes in the table of contents.
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Updated: 07/31/2022 by
A table of contents helps readers know what information is contained in a document, and where it is located. In Microsoft Word, a table of contents can also allow a reader to jump to a specific section of a document by clicking a header. To add, edit, or update a table of contents in your Word document, select from the links below to view the appropriate steps.
Add a new table of contents
- Click a page in the document where you want the table of contents added.
- Click the References tab in the Ribbon.
- In the Table of Contents section, click the Table of Contents option.
- In the dialog box or pop-down window, select one of the available table of contents layouts to automatically insert it to the current page of the document.
Tip
In step 4, you can select the Custom Table of Contents option to add a customized table of contents.
Update an existing table of contents
- Locate and click the table of contents in the document.
- Right-click the table of contents and select Update Field in the pop-up menu.
- In the Update Table of Contents window, select the Update entire table option and click the
button.
button.
Format a table of contents
To format a table of contents, you can set automatic formatting settings or manually format individual entries in the table.
- Automatically format
- Manually format
Automatically format
After creating a table of contents, you can modify the formatting so that automatic updates replicate it.
- Click the References tab in the Ribbon.
- In the Table of Contents section, click the Table of Contents option.
- In the dialog box or pop-down window, select the Custom Table of Contents option near the bottom.
- In the Table of Contents window, click the Modify button near the bottom-right corner.
- Select one of the table of content styles in the Styles window and click the Modify button.
- Click the Format button in the bottom-left corner of the Modify Style window, and select an option to modify. For example, you can select Font and change the font type, size, and color, and set it to bold or italic.
- After making your desired modifications to the table of contents style you selected, click OK on each of the open windows to save the changes.
Now, when updating the entire table of contents, the formatting options you set are automatically applied.
Manually format
After creating a table of contents, you can manually modify the formatting of text and numbers, including text size, text color, bold, and italic.
- Select the text in the table of contents that you want to format.
- How to highlight or select text.
- In the Ribbon, on the Home tab, select the new font type, size, or color, or click the bold or italic button. All selected text is changed.
Using the steps above, you can select and format each line in the table contents to be different from other lines, if desired.
Note
If you make any manual formatting changes in the table of contents and later use the «Update entire table» option to update entries in the table, your formatting changes are overwritten.
Add entries to an existing table of contents
- Add new entry automatically.
- Add new entry manually.
Add new entry automatically
The most effective way to add entries to a table of contents is to create more content with headings in the document.
- Insert one or more headings in the document using the headings options in the Styles section of the Home tab in the Ribbon.
- Add content below each new heading.
- Follow the steps in the update an existing table of contents section above to automatically add the new heading entries.
Add new entry manually
If preferred, you can manually add entries to the table of contents.
Note
If you add a manual entry in the table of contents and later use the automatic «Update entire table» option, your manual entries are dropped from the table.
- Add new content to the document, if not already done.
- In the existing table of contents, determine where you want to add an entry. Then, place the text cursor at the end of the entry above where you want the new entry.
- Press the Enter key to add a new blank line in the table of contents.
- Type the text for the new entry.
- Type the page number where the new content exists in the document for the new table of contents entry.
- Move the text cursor to the left of the page number. Repeatedly type the character or symbol used to separate the entry text from the page number, until it is to the right. The page number should line up with the page numbers of other entries in the table of contents.
For example, in the table of contents below, the «New manual entry» text and page number 3 is separated by multiple periods.
The good thing about Automatic Table of
Content is that you can effortlessly update it automatically to reflect changes
in the document without typing anything as in when you are doing it manually.
You may need to update Table of Content for
many reasons.
The most likely reasons include changes in the document by moving a chapter or two, inserting and deleting the body text or formatting body text with Heading styles which may affect the document page numbering.
This means that you need to update your Table of Content when the headings have changed or when some content moves to a different page (because you added or removed certain things from the document)
There are four methods to update Table of
Content in word (at least to my knowledge).
In today’s
quick tips, you’ll learn all the four approaches to Update table of content in
word.
Option 1: Update Table of Content shortcut (F9)
- Click
the Table of content to select it (It becomes grayed when selected) - Press
the F9 function key.
(The Update Table of Content dialog box
appears from which you have two options)
- Choose
option 1 to Update page numbers only if none of the headings have changed,
but just the page numbers; OR - Choose
option 2 to Update entire table if more substantial changes were made to
your document – like headings added or removed, or additional paragraphs
formatted with heading styles for inclusion in the TOC. - Click
OK
NOTE: The entries of Table of Contents are
fully editable: you can insert text and paragraphs between them, change the
entry titles or page numbers, and even delete the leading dots. If you choose
to update page number only (the first option), all changes you make manually
will be kept. But if you choose to update the entire table (the second option),
it rebuilds which will discard any changes you made manually.
When you edit Table of Content to include or exclude certain TOC features such as leading dots or page numbers, Word may prompt you whether you are sure to replace the table with your new changes. Click OK to accept changes.
Option 2: Update Table of Content in Reference
Another place to go to update table of content in word is the reference tab.
Without
further ado, below are the quick steps.
- Click
the Table of content to select it (It becomes grayed when selected) - Go to Reference>Table of Content>Update
Table
(The Update Table of Content dialog box
appears from which you have two options)
- Choose
option 1 to Update page numbers only if none of the headings have changed,
but just the page numbers; OR - Choose
option 2 to Update entire table if more substantial changes were made to
your document – like headings added or removed, or additional paragraphs
formatted with heading styles for inclusion in the TOC. - Click
OK
Option 3: Using the update bottom above the TOC object
- Click
the Table of content to select it (It becomes grayed when selected) - Click the Update Table button located above
the Table of Content object
(The Update Table of Content dialog box
appears from which you have two options)
- Choose
option 1 to Update page numbers only if none of the headings have changed,
but just the page numbers; OR - Choose
option 2 to Update entire table if more substantial changes were made to
your document – like headings added or removed, or additional paragraphs
formatted with heading styles for inclusion in the TOC. - Click
OK
Option 4: Update TOC by Right-Clicking
- Right-click any of the Table of Content fields
and select Update field.
(The Update Table of Content dialog box
appears from which you have two options)
- Choose
option 1 to Update page numbers only if none of the headings have changed,
but just the page numbers; OR - Choose
option 2 to Update entire table if more substantial changes were made to
your document – like headings added or removed, or additional paragraphs
formatted with heading styles for inclusion in the TOC. - Click
OK
Thanks for reading my tips.
There are several ways to create a table of contents in Microsoft Word. In this tutorial, we are going to look at the two most convenient ways. Plus, we are going to update a table of contents after making changes to the document. We will also delete a table of contents.
- How to Create a Built-In Table of Contents
- How to Create a Custom Table of Contents
- How to Choose Individual Heading Levels for a Table of Contents
- How to Update a Table of Contents
- How to Delete a Table of Contents
Important Note: To follow these steps, your headings must be formatted with Word’s heading styles. For information on heading styles, please see “How to Create and Customize Headings in Microsoft Word.”
This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
Watch more than 100 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. The steps are the same in Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word 2010. However, your interface may look slightly different in those older versions of the software.
Word’s built-in tables of contents are the easiest to create. However, they offer the fewest number of customization options.
- Place your cursor where you want to insert the table of contents.
- Select the References tab in the ribbon.
- Select the Table of Contents button.
- Select a built-in table of contents from the drop-down menu.
Your table of contents should appear in your document.
How to Create a Custom Table of Contents
Word’s custom tables of contents provide formatting options and allow you to include or exclude specific heading levels.
- Place your cursor where you want to insert the table of contents.
Pro Tip: The custom table of contents option does not automatically create a title (e.g., Table of Contents or Contents), so be sure to leave a blank line above your cursor where you can enter a title later.
- Select the References tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the Table of Contents button (see figure 2).
- Select Custom Table of Contents from the drop-down menu.
- Select a visual style from the Formats menu in the Table of Contents dialog box. (The From Template option is based on the styles established in your current template.)
- Select the number of levels you want to include in the Show levels menu.
- (Optional Step) Select additional options concerning page numbers and tab leaders, which are the dots, dashes, or lines that appear before the page number.
How to Choose Individual Heading Levels for a Table of Contents
By default, Word’s tables of contents include text formatted with sequential heading styles (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc.). However, you can manually include or exclude individual heading levels within your custom table of contents.
- Select the Options button in the Table of Contents dialog box.
- Enter the sequence of the heading levels you want to appear in the TOC level text boxes in the Table of Contents Options dialog box.
In the example above, I entered 1 across from Heading 2 because I want my table of contents to begin with Heading 2 and exclude Heading 1.
- Select the OK button.
- Select the OK button.
Your table of contents should appear in your document.
- Type a title (e.g., Table of Contents or Contents) above your table of contents.
How to Update a Table of Contents
Your table of contents won’t automatically update as you add additional headings to your document. Instead, you can update your table of contents as you add headings or when the document is complete.
- Place your cursor in the table of contents.
- Right-click and select Update Field from the shortcut menu.
Pro Tip: You can also select Update Table in the Table of Contents group in the References tab.
- Select Update entire table from the Update Table of Contents dialog box.
- Select the OK button.
Your table of contents should update immediately.
How to Delete a Table of Contents
You don’t have to select the table of contents to delete it.
- Select the References tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the Table of Contents button (see figure 2).
- Select Remove Table of Contents from the drop-down menu.
Your table of contents should be deleted immediately.
Related Resources
How to Create and Update a List of Tables or Figures in Microsoft Word
How to Cross-Reference Tables and Figures in Microsoft Word
How to Insert Figure Captions and Table Titles in Microsoft Word
Updated January 03, 2022
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- Adding a Table of Contents
- Updating the Table of Contents
- Stylizing the Table of Contents
- Video
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This wikiHow teaches you how to customize and update the table of contents in your Word document. When you create a table of contents in Word, page numbers are added automatically based on the headings you’ve added to each section. Word makes it easy to customize the way the page numbers and section titles appear on the table. If you make changes to your document that affects your section headers or page numbers, you’ll need to choose the Update Table option so the table of contents remains correct.
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1
Format the headings of each section of your document. Word’s table of contents builder automatically generates a table of contents based on the headings in your document.[1]
This means each section that you want represented in your table of contents must have a properly-formatted heading.- If a section should appear as a primary section in the table of contents, select its heading, click the Home tab, and then select Heading 1 on the «Styles» panel.
- To add a sub-section to the primary section in the table of contents, give that section a Heading 2 header: Select its heading and choose Heading 2 from the Styles section.
- You can can also use Heading 3, Heading 4, etc., to add even more pages to your table of contents.
- Make sure any page you want to include in the table of contents has a heading.
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2
Click the location where you want to insert the table of contents. Typically this will be at the beginning of your document.
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3
Click the References tab. It’s at the top of Word.
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4
Click Table of Contents on the toolbar. It’s at the upper-left corner of Word. A list of Table of Contents styles will expand.
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5
Select an automatic style template. Several style options appear for your table of contents—choose one of the suggested styles to get started. Once selected, this will add a table of contents that lists the page numbers for each of your formatted sections.
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1
Click the References tab. It’s at the top of Word.[2]
- Use this method if you’ve made a change (changing a heading, adding/removing pages) to your document and need to update the table of contents to reflect that change.
- The only way to change the name of a section on the table of contents is to change the name of the corresponding header in the document.
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2
Click Update Table on the «Table of Contents» panel. It’s in the upper-left corner. Two options will appear.
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3
Select an update option.
- Select Update page numbers only if you want to refresh the page numbers without applying any changes you’ve made to the headings.
- Select Update entire table to apply all heading and page number changes.
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4
Click OK. The table of contents is now up-to-date.
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1
Click the References tab. It’s at the top of Word.
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2
Click Table of Contents on the toolbar. It’s at the upper-left corner of Word. A list of Table of Contents styles will expand.
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3
Click Custom table of contents on the menu. This opens the Table of Contents dialog box.
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4
Adjust your general preferences. The «Print Preview» box at the upper-left corner shows you how the printed table of contents will appear, while the «Web preview» box displays how it will look on the web.[3]
- Use the checkbox next to «Show page numbers» to show or hide page numbers. If you just want to hide page numbers on the web version of the table of contents, check the box next to «Use hyperlinks instead of page numbers.»
- Use the checkbox next to «Right align pages numbers» top adjust the alignment.
- To change the style of the line or pattern that separates the heading title and the page number, make your selection from the «Tab leader» menu.
- To choose another theme, select something from the «Format» menu.
- To adjust how many heading levels are displayed in the table, select an option from the «Show levels» menu (the default is 3).
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5
Click the Modify button. It’s in the lower-right corner of the window. This is where you can change the properties of the text on the table of contents page.
- If you don’t see this button, click the «Formats» menu and select From template. It should appear then.
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6
Select a style and click Modify. The styles you can change appear in the «Styles» box on the left side of the window. When you click a style (e.g., TOC 1), you’ll see the font size, spacing, and other details—clicking Modify allows you to change these details.
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7
Make your changes and click OK. You can choose different fonts, alignments, colors, and numerous other details for each selected style. Alternatively, you can keep the defaults, which come from the table of contents template you selected.
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8
Click OK. The style changes you’ve made will apply to your table of contents immediately.
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About This Article
Article SummaryX
1. Click the References tab.
2. Click Update Table.
3. Select an update option.
4. Click OK.
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