How to insert a table of contents using bookmarks instead of headings

Question

My colleague generates a monthly summary of planning issues. At the end of the year, I combine the year's summaries into a single summary. Each monthly summary contains a date range (eg From 15/1/25 to 11/2/25) in its header. I want to create a table of contents in the yearly summary using the date range text. I mark the date range text that I want to populate the table using Insert > Bookmark and then create a succession of cross-references to those bookmarks at the start of the document.

This is a manual task and, while it's only done once a year, is there's a more efficient method?

Answer 1

Rather than, or in addition to, bookmarks, you could be using TC fields.

See

• http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/TOCTips.htm
• https://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/tableofcontents.html

TC fields can be assigned levels and do not have to be individually named, unlike bookmarks.

Answer 2

To create a table of contents (TOC) in Word using bookmarks instead of headings, you can follow these steps:

1. Insert Bookmarks: In each monthly summary document, highlight the date range text that you want to include in your TOC. Go to the Insert tab and select Bookmark to add a bookmark to that text. Make sure to give each bookmark a unique name.
2. Create Cross-References: In your yearly summary document, you can insert cross-references to these bookmarks. Place your cursor where you want the TOC to appear, then go to the References tab and select Cross-reference. In the dialog box, choose Bookmark from the Reference type dropdown, select the bookmark you want to reference, and choose how you want it displayed (e.g., just the bookmark text).
3. Automate the Process: To streamline this process, consider using a macro in Word that automates the insertion of bookmarks and cross-references. You can record a macro while performing the manual steps, then run that macro each time you need to update the TOC.

This method allows you to efficiently create a TOC based on bookmarks, minimizing the manual effort involved each year.

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References:

• Predefined Bookmarks
• Add Bookmark controls to Word documents

Answer 3

Hi @Richard Curtis,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

According to your concern, you can create a Table of Contents using bookmarks via TOC field code. For example, I have the following bookmarks which is named as month1 and having contents like this:

To create toc for this bookmark, press Ctrl+F9 to insert Field Code and use the switch like this: {TOC \o "1-3" \h \b month1}

With these switches, the toc will show the contents within the bookmark month1, heading levels 1 to 3 and make those entries clickable.

You can find more guidelines about these switches in this article: Field codes: TOC (Table of Contents) field - Microsoft Support

I hope this information will be useful to you. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works. If you have any news about this issue, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need additional help, please feel free to ask them in the comments so that I can continue to support you.

Looking forward to your response.

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