A table of contents is tool to help navigate a page or document. It helps to find where specific topics are in the document and can link users to that portion of the document. The table of contents is usually set up with Headings that identify topics in the document. The headings are separated into levels of importance, with the subheadings of a broader topic nested beneath the topic it relates to. By default Word has four levels of headings in the gallery, but more can be added as needed.

Creating a Table of Contents

Word will automatically create a Table of Contents page if a document is designed using Heading and Paragraph styles (see the Styles section). Follow the steps on this page to create a Table of Contents for this sort of document.

1. Highlight a heading that you would like to appear in the Table of Contents (TOC).
2. Go to the Ribbon, to the Home tab in the Styles group, browse through styles gallery to find Heading 1 and Heading 2. The heading level determines what level in the table of contents the text will appear. that has a down arrow on it. Word will automatically add the next level of heading when you use the previous level.
3. Select the level of heading you want to use.
4. Go to the Ribbon, to the Reference tab in the Table of Contents group, click the Table of Contents button and choose the style of Table of Contents you want.
5. Level - Choose "1" for first-level headings, "2" for second-level headings, etc.
6. Click the Mark button.
7. The document will be toggled to a "reveal codes" view; notice the TOC field codes. To hide all codes click the Show/Hide codes button [Show/Hide codes button] on the standard toolbar.
8. Select another heading to add to the TOC, or click the Close button on the Mark Table of Contents Entry dialog box.

Updating a Table of Contents/h4>

To edit the Table of Contents in Word, just change your contents and headings in your document. You don't have to go into the table of contents to change what page something is on or what heading type. Once the table of contents is created, the contents can be updated by going to the Table of Contents group on the Reference tab and selecting Update Table or click Update Table on the table border surrounding your table of contents. (NOTE: You will have to click on your table of contents to see the table border.)

To edit the display style of your table of contents you can go to the Table of Contents button in the Table of Contents group on the Reference tab or manually by selecting what text and changing the font and size with the Home tab.