Creating Table of Contents - Making table of contents in Word

Generating a table of contents for your tables in Word not only helps you manage them easily but also enables viewers to quickly find the necessary tables. In this article, Software Hacks shares with you how to create a table of contents – an index for Word tables quickly.

1. Making a table of contents for charts and tables in Word

Note: Before creating a table of contents for charts and tables in Word, you need to name each table. When naming a table, keep it concise, understandable, and without adjusting fonts or margins, as we will do that in the following steps of the article.

Step 1: Choose the References → Insert Caption tab to create a table of contents for your charts.

Step 2: If this is your first time creating a table of contents in Word, you must add a new label by selecting New Label.

In subsequent attempts, you don't need to create a new label; just reuse the labels created earlier.

Step 3: Now, you need to name the newly created label. Since we are creating a table of contents for charts, the most suitable label name would be Table. Additionally, you can set other names based on your needs, but remember that this Label name will be displayed before the caption/table name.

When creating a table of contents for images, name it: Images; For a table of contents for charts, name it: Charts.

Step 4: Next, select the Numbering option to format the labels before creating the table of contents in Word.

• Format: Numbering format (1.2.3…; a,b,c,.. ; I,II,III…)
• Include chapter number: Number based on the table of contents and image order (Based on Heading). Example: If the table is numbered as the 3rd table in the 2nd section of the article, it will be: Table 2.3 (section in the table of contents, order in the image).
• Chapter starts with style: Choose the Heading containing the image
• Use separator: Choose the separator style between the table of contents and the table order in the table of contents.

Step 5: After completing, click OK to finish creating labels when setting up the table of contents for the table.

Step 6: Before creating the table of contents, you need to perform the following tasks:

• Review all table names in the article and make corrections
• Reformat the table names in the article to create consistency between content when making the table of contents.

To reformat table names in the article, follow these steps:

Select the Home (1) → Highlight the table name/caption (2) → Choose the desired Heading and select Modify (3).

Step 7: Now, you need to format the Font style, font size, alignment, etc., for the table names to make them most suitable.

You do the same for all remaining table names/captions in the article.

After formatting all names/captions in the table, we are ready to move on to the table of contents creation step.

Step 8: At this stage, we will number the tables based on the labels created in Step 3.

• Hover your mouse over the beginning of the table name/caption line.
• Sequentially choose References (1) → Insert Caption (2) → Label (3) → OK (4).
• Perform the same steps for all remaining table names/captions in the article.

After completing these steps for all table names in the article, you will see the table names now numbered consecutively from 1.

Step 9: Now, move to the position where you want to create a table of contents. Typically, when creating a table of contents, people will create it on an entirely new page. To move to a new page, select Page Layout > Break > Page to insert a page break.

Next, select the References (1) → Insert Table of Figures (2).

In the Table of Figures window, change the Caption label to Table (or the previously set label) to organize the table of contents based on the Label. Then, press OK to generate the automatic table of contents.

Step 10: At this point, you will receive the result of the automatic table of contents. The table of contents is almost complete; you just need to name it to finish.

Step 11: Finally, naming the table of contents completes the process of creating a table of contents in Word.

2. How to update the table of contents when information changes

If you modify the information of a table, add a table to the system where a table of contents has been previously created, don't worry. In this case, we just need to update the table of contents to automatically fetch the new data.

Step 1: Highlight the entire table of contents in Word.

Step 2: Then, Right-click and choose Update Field.

In this article, Software Hacks has shared with you a simple method of creating an automatic table of contents in Word. Have a great day!