Creating and updating the TOC

The TOC is generated using document heading styles. Once a document is formatted using heading styles, Microsoft Word uses these styles to create the table. Once the TOC has been inserted into the document, you will be able to update the table (without redoing the entire table). Word offers a gallery of TOC styles to choose from:

1. To follow this example, open the document called Table-of-Contents.docx.
2. We will create a TOC as the first page in this document.
3. Force a page break at the start of the document by pressing Ctrl + Enter.
4. Type the heading Table of Contents on the first page of the document.
5. Heading styles need to be applied throughout the report so that we can generate the TOC on the first page of the document—use Heading 1 through Heading 3 to format the report headings:

6. To select more than one heading in order to apply the same heading style, select the first heading, then hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard. While keeping the Ctrl key depressed, select the next heading, and so on.
7. Once the heading styles have been applied throughout the document, we are ready to build our TOC.
8. Click in the document where you want the TOC to reside. This is normally at the very top of the document on the first page.
9. Click on the References tab.
10. Click on the Table of Contents drop-down arrow to select a built-in TOC style to use:

Your TOC will be generated at the top of the document. But if you need to make any changes to the existing TOC or you used the incorrect heading styles on a section of the document and need to correct this, then simply click into the TOC and press the F9 function key to update the entire table or just the page numbering: