A table of contents (TOC) makes long documents easier to navigate. Learn how to automatically generate a professional, clickable table of contents in Microsoft Word that updates as you edit.
Go through your document and apply heading styles (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2) to the text you want to include. You can find these in the Home tab under the Styles group.
Click to place your cursor where you want the table of contents to appear, which is typically at the beginning of your document on a new page.
Click on the References tab in the Word ribbon at the top of the screen.
In the Table of Contents group, click the Table of Contents button. Choose one of the built-in automatic styles (e.g., 'Automatic Table 1') to insert it into your document.
If you change your headings or page numbers, right-click the table of contents and select Update Field. You can then choose to update page numbers only or the entire table.
Pro Tips for Your Table of Contents
Always remember to update your TOC before finalizing your document. Use the Update Table button that appears above the TOC or right-click and select Update Field.
In the digital version of your document, hold Ctrl and click on any entry in the table of contents to jump directly to that section.
Go to References > Table of Contents > Custom Table of Contents... to change which heading levels are shown, modify formatting, and more.
The automatic TOC relies entirely on the heading styles you've applied. Using them consistently is the secret to a perfect table of contents.
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