How to make content in Word: design features and recommendations

A table of contents is not only a mandatory requirement for the design of official multi-page documents, but also a convenient way to display the internal structure of the text. Most often it is used in thesis, term papers or e-books. This article will tell you how to make content in the "Word" of any version in a few minutes.

Types of tables of contents

There are 2 types: automatic and manual. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages for the end user. For automatically generated content, they are:

Benefits: fast creation, neat appearance and automatic changes when editing text.
Disadvantages: some universities require a manual table of contents for student papers.

Manual content has no advantages, only disadvantages:

Long creation process due to the need to copy headers,subheadings and numbering throughout the document.
When making any changes, check the numbering or titles of the headings, and then put them in the table of contents.

How to make automatic content in "Word 2003"

This is done according to the following algorithm:

Select the title of a section or subsection.
Tag him in one of 2 ways. The first is on the "Formatting" panel in the drop-down list, select one of the "Title" lines. The number indicates importance: 1 for chapter titles, 2 for section titles, 3 for subsections.

Method 2: Call the "Paragraph" dialog box using the context menu or "Format"=> "Paragraph" commands. In the first tab, in the "Level" drop-down list, select the value "Level 1", "Level 2" or "Level 3". Press "OK"

Repeat the previous step until all section names are marked.
Set the cursor to the beginning of the first page and insert a "Section Break" using the "Insert" and "Break" commands. This will make it easier to remove pagination from the first sheets in the future.
Open the "Insert" menu and hover over the "Link" line in it.
Select "Tables and Indexes" in the new list.
In the new window click "OK.

This algorithm, how to make the content of the pages in the document in Word, is completed.

Customizing content formatting in Microsoft Word 2003

Standard settings for the appearance of the table of contents do not match the requirements of GOST for paperwork. To bring them into compliance, you need to call up the options dialog box using the "Insert" menu and its subsections "Link" and "Tables and Indexes".

You can change the following parameters in it:

Display the page numbers where the section is located and manage their position - right after the title or at the right edge of the sheet.
Symbols that fill the space between the title and page number - plain and underline dashes, dots, or nothing. It is this parameter that is responsible for how to make dots in the content in the Word.

In addition to these properties, you can change the styles that apply to different heading levels in the content. You can call the window for editing them using the "Change" button. You need to select one of the lines in it, and then click on "Edit".

This button will open a style settings window where you can change the font type, size, color, style and other formatting options. After changing the settings, you need to click "OK" and agree to insert a table of contents with new parameters.

On this procedure, how to make the content in the "Word" comply with the requirements of GOST, you canconsidered finished.

Insert automatic table of contents in Microsoft Word 2007, 2010

In this version of the editor, content is inserted as follows:

Select each heading in turn and mark it by selecting a level in the list called by the "Add Text" button located in the "Links" tab, "Contents" block. Design using the styles "Heading 1, 2" or "Subheading" located in the "Styles" block of the "Home" tab

Set the cursor to the beginning of the first page. If the content should be located on a separate sheet, then insert a "Page Break" with the hot key Ctrl + Enter. "Insert"=> "Page Break", "Page Layout"=> "Breaks"=> "Page".
Go to the "Links" section.
In the "Contents" block, click on the button with the same name.
In the new list, select one of the first two items.

This method of how to make content in "Word 2007, 2010" is completed.

Customizing content design in Microsoft Word 2007, 2010

It almost does not differ from the similar procedure in Microsoft Word 2003. The only difference is in the method of calling the window with parameters. This is done according to the following algorithm:

Go to the "Links" section of the toolbar.
In the block"Tables" click on the button with the same name.
In the list that appears, select the line labeled "Contents".

Customize heading styles

When you mark headings for table of contents in any of the ways, standard styles are applied to them that do not meet the design requirements. To make them "normal", you need to perform a reconfiguration. This is done as follows:

Open the style control panel by pressing the small button in the corner of the block with the same name, located in the "Home" tab. You can also use the hotkey: Ctrl + Shift + "Image" + S.
In the block that opens, move the cursor over one of the inscriptions: "Heading 1, 2", "Subheading", "Heading of the table of contents", "Heading of the table of contents 1, 2".

Note: The last 2 styles control the appearance of the content.

Click on the inverted checkmark that appears and select "Change" from the menu that opens

Edit the formatting options in the new dialog box. To access all settings, you need to click the "Format" button.
Click "OK".

Manual table of contents in Microsoft Word of any version

The way to make content in "Word" with numbers, as in the automatic assembly of the table of contents, is impractical and time consuming. But sometimes students are forced touse due to ignorance of previous techniques or design requirements.

The algorithm for creating manual content is as follows:

Insert a blank page before the main text.
Add a table to it, consisting of two columns and an arbitrary number of rows.
Merge cells in the first line, enter "Contents" into them and insert a line break with the Enter key.

Move over the bar between columns and drag it to the right so that the second column has space for page numbers only.
Fill the rows of the first column with section titles, and the second column with sheet numbers. Align them relative to the left and right edges of the cell, respectively.
Select table.
On the "Formatting" panel (Microsoft Word 2003) or in the "Paragraph" block of the "Home" tab (Microsoft Word 2007–2016), find the "Borders" button and use it to turn off the visibility of table borders.