How to Create a Table of Contents in Word (Automatically!)

About this video

Kevin shows how to create a table of contents in Word that builds and updates itself, instead of typing entries and page numbers by hand. The key is heading styles: insert an automatic table from the References tab, then apply the Heading 1 style to each section title in the document, and use Update Table to pull the headings and their page numbers in. He explains the two update modes, page numbers only versus updating the entire table, and warns that edits should be made to the headings in the body, not typed into the table itself, or they will be overwritten. He also covers inserting a custom table of contents with control over page numbers, alignment, tab leaders, and how many heading levels to show. Beyond the table, he shows the payoff of styles: reformatting every heading at once by modifying the style, collapsing chapters, navigating with the Navigation Pane, and Ctrl-clicking table entries to jump to sections.

Key takeaways

• An automatic table of contents is built from heading styles, not manual typing
• Apply Heading 1 (or 2 and 3 for sublevels) to every section title
• Use Update Table after changes; choose page numbers only or entire table
• Edit heading text in the document body, never directly in the table
• Styles also enable one-click reformatting, the Navigation Pane, and chapter collapsing

Episode details: published February 28, 2025 · 7:19 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Kevin Stratvert’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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