How to Auto-Generate a Table of Contents in Word (Full Transcript)

Use heading styles and Word’s built-in TOC tool to create clickable navigation and update it anytime with Update Field.

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[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Stop typing your Table of Contents manually. Let Microsoft Word do it for you. First, highlight all your section headings, then go to the Home tab and click on Heading Style 1. Next, click where you want your Table of Contents to go. Then, go to the References tab and click Table of Contents and choose a built-in style. Word will automatically create your Table of Contents, complete with clickable links that jump to each section of your document. If you add new sections later, just right-click the Table of Contents, choose Update Field, Update Entire Table, and that'll refresh it automatically.

Summary

The speaker explains how to automatically generate and maintain a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word by applying heading styles to section titles, inserting a built-in Table of Contents from the References tab, and updating it later to reflect changes.

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Title

Create an Automatic Table of Contents in Word

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Keywords

Microsoft Word Remove

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Table of Contents Remove

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Heading Styles Remove

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References tab Remove

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Update Field Remove

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Update Entire Table Remove

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clickable links Remove

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document formatting Remove

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Key Takeaways

Apply Word heading styles (e.g., Heading 1) to section headings instead of manual formatting.
Insert a built-in Table of Contents via References → Table of Contents.
The generated TOC includes clickable links for navigation.
Refresh the TOC after edits by right-clicking it and selecting Update Field → Update Entire Table.

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Sentiments

Neutral: Instructional and practical tone focused on step-by-step guidance without strong emotional language.

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