how to fix table of contents issues in Word

Can you save a sample document with the TOC and at least one of the parts from the body showing up in the TOC to OneDrive or DropBox and post a share link here?

By default, the table of contents picks up paragraphs with an "Outline level" set. To work around this, do the following:

Press Alt+F9 (or Alt+Fn+F9 on some keyboards) which will display field codes.

The code usually looks something like this:

Delete the \u switch and then update the TOC. Press Alt+F9 again to hide field codes.

Word doesn’t decide what goes into the table of contents based on “Body Text” in the paragraph dialog. It builds the TOC from either heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) or anything that has an outline level assigned or a TC field. So something in those paragraphs is still marking them as includable.

First check the outline level directly. Select one of the problem paragraphs, open the Paragraph dialog, go to Indents and Spacing, and look at “Outline level.” If it’s anything other than “Body Text,” change it to “Body Text.” Even if the style says Normal, a direct formatting override here will make it appear in the TOC.

If that doesn’t fix it, the Normal style itself may have been modified. Right-click Normal in the Styles pane, choose Modify, then Format → Paragraph, and confirm the outline level is set to Body Text. If Normal has an outline level like Level 1–9, everything using it can show up in the TOC.

Another common cause is hidden TC fields. Turn on field codes with Alt+F9 and look for things like { TC "some text" } inside those paragraphs. If they’re there, delete them or toggle them back and remove them.

Finally, check the TOC settings. Go to References → Table of Contents → Custom Table of Contents → Options, and see which styles are mapped to TOC levels. If “Normal” or any custom body style has a number next to it, Word will include it. Remove that mapping.

After fixing the cause, update the table with F9 and choose to update the entire table.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin