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Word Table of Contents is glitchy and counterintuitive: Why?

Anonymous
2024-07-26T14:17:39+00:00

I'm used to using Google Suite and haven't used Microsoft products for some years. In my new role, I'm using Microsoft and confounded (respectfully) by some of the basics that glitch out or don't work as they should. When trying to insert a table of contents into my Microsoft word document, I encounter the following:

  • There seems to be no way to link the headers in the table of contents to the headers in the document. If I want to quickly link to a section outlined in the TOC, I have to open the navigation menu on the side and click there instead. Doesn't seem to make sense. Google Docs allows you to click right on the table of contents to go where you want to go.
  • When I add page numbers to the table of contents, and choose "right aligned," they sometimes stay that way and other times get crooked, not right aligned, but rather all at different spots on the page. This looks unprofessional so I've had to resort to deleting the table of contents because left aligned page numbers also don't look professional.

I'm confused why basic functions are not working as they should.

Thank you.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | Other

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  1. Stefan Blom 338.7K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2024-07-26T16:53:35+00:00

    Which version of Word are you running?

    If this is the full version running under Windows or MacOS, you get hyperlinked TOC entries by default, which should make navigating to headings from a TOC straightforward.

    You can add a STYLEREF field to repeat the text of a chapter heading in the document header or footer. This is helpful for navigation and it is unrelated to the table of contents.

    Alignment in the TOC may be affected by formatting in the headings themselves. For example, if paragraph numbering is applied to text, Word adds a tab stop following the paragraph number, which sometimes causes undesired effects.

    You can upload a screen shot for illustration, so that we can have a closer look.

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  2. John Korchok 231.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2024-07-26T16:02:28+00:00

    I think by "headers", you mean "headings". Are you using the built-in heading styles Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3?

    How did you create the table of contents? If you use References>Table of Contents>Automatic Table 1 or Automatic Table 2, the TOC is automatically linked to the built-in heading styles Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3

    Regarding the page number position, you can get odd number positions of you have added extra tabs to the TOC or to the TOC styles (TOC1, TOC2, TOC3). I don't see any page number position problems in a new blank document using Automatic Table 1 or Automatic Table 2.

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