Create a Table of Contents in Word

If at some point you are faced with the task of writing a longer essay on a specific topic, then you can not really get around a table of contents.

In addition, of course, this table of contents should not only map the content, but also be a navigation with it, and may contain sub-items.

You will find out how to create a dynamic table of contents in Word in our article.

Table of contents in Word

Topic Overview

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Create a Table of Contents in Word

If at some point you are faced with the task of writing a longer essay on a specific topic, then you can not really get around a table of contents.

In addition, of course, this table of contents should not only map the content, but also be a navigation with it, and may contain sub-items.

You will find out how to create a dynamic table of contents in Word in our article.

Table of contents in Word

Topic Overview

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1. Create page for table of contents

1. Create page for table of contents

Before we begin to create our headings, I recommend first as a preparatory step, a blank page for the later table of contents einzufpfllegen. Because experience shows that once the headings are formatted as such are always fiddly, and no one needs that.

  • Let’s first place our cursor in front of the first word on the first page of our document
  • Then go to the tab “Paste” and there to “Empty page”

This simply creates a page break, and we have a blank page that we can later use for the table of contents.

Please also read our article: How to move pages in Word

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Leere Seite für Inhaltsverzeichnis
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Before we begin to create our headings, I recommend first as a preparatory step, a blank page for the later table of contents einzufpfllegen. Because experience shows that once the headings are formatted as such are always fiddly, and no one needs that.

  • Let’s first place our cursor in front of the first word on the first page of our document
  • Then go to the tab “Paste” and there to “Empty page”

This simply creates a page break, and we have a blank page that we can later use for the table of contents.

Please also read our article: How to move pages in Word

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Leere Seite für Inhaltsverzeichnis
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2. Create headings with one level in Word

2. Create headings with one level in Word

So that your table of contents works later as it should, and is accordingly dynamic, the headings of the individual sections must first be formatted correctly.

In the first example, we will start with just one level first.

  • To do this, first mark all headings of the corresponding sections.
  • Then click on “Heading 1” under the “Start” tab in the style sheets.

Then you can immediately see that Word has automatically numbered here.

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Überschrift in Word formatieren-Eine Ebene - Schritt1
Überschrift in Word formatieren-Eine Ebene - Schritt2
cshow
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The formatting of the text which should serve as a headline is an elementary step so that Word knows later that it is a heading. It is not enough to simply put numbers in front of the desired headlines by hand, and then underline them for your sake and fat or similar. display.

So that your table of contents works later as it should, and is accordingly dynamic, the headings of the individual sections must first be formatted correctly.

In the first example, we will start with just one level first.

  • To do this, first mark all headings of the corresponding sections.
  • Then click on “Heading 1” under the “Start” tab in the style sheets.

Then you can immediately see that Word has automatically numbered here.

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Überschrift in Word formatieren-Eine Ebene - Schritt1
Überschrift in Word formatieren-Eine Ebene - Schritt2
cshow
Ads

The formatting of the text which should serve as a headline is an elementary step so that Word knows later that it is a heading. It is not enough to simply put numbers in front of the desired headlines by hand, and then underline them for your sake and fat or similar. display.

3. Create multi-level headings in Word

3. Create multi-level headings in Word

The more extensive your work becomes, the more it may be necessary to re-divide sections into sections that would otherwise become too cluttered. Therefore, in this section, we will focus on creating multi-level headings.

  • First mark all headings of the incl. The planned second level
  • Then go to the “Start” tab in the “List Library” and there to the item “Title structure”

Now all planned headlines (including those of the second outline level) are marked as a list.

  • Now format the highlighted headings with Heading 1 (under Styles)
  • Then just mark the desired second level headers
  • Now change the list level under “Numbering Library” in the “Start” tab

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Überschrift Gliederung Schritt1
Überschrift Gliederung Schritt2
cshow
Ads

Here, too, we see that Word has formatted the corresponding second level headings with 3.1, 3.2, and so on. These can not be changed manually like this anymore.

The more extensive your work becomes, the more it may be necessary to re-divide sections into sections that would otherwise become too cluttered. Therefore, in this section, we will focus on creating multi-level headings.

  • First mark all headings of the incl. The planned second level
  • Then go to the “Start” tab in the “List Library” and there to the item “Title structure”

Now all planned headlines (including those of the second outline level) are marked as a list.

  • Now format the highlighted headings with Heading 1 (under Styles)
  • Then just mark the desired second level headers
  • Now change the list level under “Numbering Library” in the “Start” tab

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Überschrift Gliederung Schritt1
Überschrift Gliederung Schritt2
cshow
Ads

Here, too, we see that Word has formatted the corresponding second level headings with 3.1, 3.2, and so on. These can not be changed manually like this anymore.

4. Indent second level headings

4. Indent second level headings

Often it is also the case that you would like to indent the headings of the second level in order to visually distinguish them from the rest.

This can be arranged in the headings by changing the heading 2 style, and the texts below can then be easily accessed by enlarging the indentation.

Step 1:

Select the headings of the 2nd level and click on “Change” in the context menu.

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Überschriften einrücken Schritt1

Step 2:

In the dialog box for the changes, click on “Format” and then on “Paragraph”

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Überschriften einrücken Schritt2

Step 3:

Change the feeder on the left to the desired value (here 1cm in the example)

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Überschriften einrücken Schritt3

Step 4:

Select the text paragraphs under the second level headings and enlarge the left indent

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Überschriften einrücken Schritt4

Certainly in Word (as in all Office programs) there are many ways to Rome, but this is just one way to do it all. Incidentally, you can change all the possible parameters (color, font, etc.) under the styles we have just changed, or create completely your own and save them either only for the current document or in general.

In the end, the whole thing should look like this:

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Eingerückte Überschriften in Word

Often it is also the case that you would like to indent the headings of the second level in order to visually distinguish them from the rest.

This can be arranged in the headings by changing the heading 2 style, and the texts below can then be easily accessed by enlarging the indentation.

Step 1:

Select the headings of the 2nd level and click on “Change” in the context menu.

See picture:

Überschriften einrücken Schritt1

Step 2:

In the dialog box for the changes, click on “Format” and then on “Paragraph”

See picture:

Überschriften einrücken Schritt2

Step 3:

Change the feeder on the left to the desired value (here 1cm in the example)

See picture:

Überschriften einrücken Schritt3

Step 4:

Select the text paragraphs under the second level headings and enlarge the left indent

See picture:

Überschriften einrücken Schritt4

Certainly in Word (as in all Office programs) there are many ways to Rome, but this is just one way to do it all. Incidentally, you can change all the possible parameters (color, font, etc.) under the styles we have just changed, or create completely your own and save them either only for the current document or in general.

In the end, the whole thing should look like this:

See picture:

Eingerückte Überschriften in Word

5. Insert table of contents in Word

5. Insert table of contents in Word

Now that we have completed the headings of the first and second levels, we can build into the very first empty page created at the beginning.

  • For this we simply place the cursor on top of the first page
  • Then click on “Table of Contents” in the “References” tab

Here you can now select an existing style sheet (usually enough), or you can create a completely new template according to your own ideas.

Of course, if you later make changes to the document, you can easily update it by going to the table of contents and clicking Update Table of Contents

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Insert table of contents:

Inhaltsverzeichnis in Word einfügen
Blogverzeichnis Bloggerei.de

Change table of contents:

Inhaltsverzeichnis in Word ändern

Now that we have completed the headings of the first and second levels, we can build into the very first empty page created at the beginning.

  • For this we simply place the cursor on top of the first page
  • Then click on “Table of Contents” in the “References” tab

Here you can now select an existing style sheet (usually enough), or you can create a completely new template according to your own ideas.

Of course, if you later make changes to the document, you can easily update it by going to the table of contents and clicking Update Table of Contents

See picture: (click to enlarge)

Insert table of contents:

Inhaltsverzeichnis in Word einfügen

Change table of contents:

Inhaltsverzeichnis in Word ändern
Blogverzeichnis Bloggerei.de

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About the Author:

Michael W. Suhr
Michael W. SuhrDipl. Betriebswirt | Webdesign- und Beratung | Office Training
After 20 years in logistics, I turned my hobby, which has accompanied me since the mid-1980s, into a profession, and have been working as a freelancer in web design, web consulting and Microsoft Office since the beginning of 2015. On the side, I write articles for more digital competence in my blog as far as time allows.

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About the Author:

Michael W. Suhr
Michael W. SuhrDipl. Betriebswirt | Webdesign- und Beratung | Office Training
After 20 years in logistics, I turned my hobby, which has accompanied me since the mid-1980s, into a profession, and have been working as a freelancer in web design, web consulting and Microsoft Office since the beginning of 2015. On the side, I write articles for more digital competence in my blog as far as time allows.

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