Insert and Update a Table of Contents in Word

You want a table of contents that lists your sections and page numbers — and updates itself when you edit the document instead of forcing you to retype it.

Why: Word builds an automatic table of contents from the heading styles in your document. Apply Heading 1, 2, and 3 to your section titles and Word does the rest — and refreshes page numbers on demand.

Step 1: Apply heading styles

The table is only as good as your headings, so tag them first.

1. Click in a section title.
2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click Heading 1 for top-level sections, Heading 2 for sub-sections, and Heading 3 for the level below that.
3. Repeat through the document. Anything you style as a heading will appear in the table; ordinary paragraphs won’t.

Step 2: Insert the table of contents

1. Click where you want the table — usually a blank line near the start of the document.
2. Go to the References tab.
3. Click Table of Contents and choose one of the Automatic Table styles from the gallery.

Word inserts a table listing every heading with its page number. Avoid the Manual Table option — it’s just placeholder text Word can’t update for you.

Step 3: Update it after edits

When you add, rename, move, or re-level headings — or the page numbers shift — refresh the table:

1. Click anywhere inside the table.
2. Click Update Table (on the References tab), or right-click the table and choose Update Field.
3. In the dialog, choose:
   • Update page numbers only — keeps your entries, just fixes the page numbers.
   • Update entire table — rebuilds the list to reflect new, renamed, or removed headings.
4. Click OK.

FAQ

A section is missing from the table. Its title probably isn’t styled as a heading. Click in it and apply Heading 1/2/3 from the Home tab, then update the entire table.

Extra junk is showing up in the table. Some text is carrying a heading style by accident. Select it and apply a body style (e.g. Normal), then update the entire table.

My headings changed but the table still shows the old text. Choose Update entire table rather than page numbers only — page-number-only updates won’t pick up renamed or new headings.

Sources: Microsoft Support — Insert a table of contents, Microsoft Support — Update a table of contents