OmniDocHow to modify and edit a directory that has already been generated in Word
Explain the three situations of modifying the generated table of contents in Word: changing text, changing page numbers, and adding or deleting entries. Explain why manually changed content will be overwritten during updates, and how to modify the title style to retain the results.
Key points of this article
- The content of the table of contents comes from the title style. If you change the text in the table of contents directly, it will be overwritten when updating the table of contents. You should change the text title first.
- Wrong page numbers are usually caused by changes in pagination. Just choose to update the page numbers without redoing the table of contents.
- To add a new item, set the corresponding text paragraph as a heading style, and then update the entire table of contents.
- When the TOC style is not uniform, it is easier to change the TOC style than to adjust the format line by line.
After finishing the table of contents in Word, many people find that a title is wrongly written, or a chapter is missing, so they directly change the text in the table of contents. You can see the effect after making the changes, but as soon as you update the directory, the changes disappear again. This article is written for readers who are editing papers, reports, contracts or bids. It explains how to modify the generated directory so that it will not be restored after refreshing.
After reading, you will know three things: which changes should correct the text, which ones only need to update the page numbers, and how to add or delete an item to the table of contents. The methods in this article are the general operating logic of Word and are applicable to most Word versions.
How to change the generated directory so that it will not be overwritten? One sentence conclusion
Correct the title in the text first, and then update the table of contents so that the changes will be retained. The table of contents itself is a field automatically generated based on the title style. Directly changing the text in the table of contents is only a temporary modification.
| your situation | Recommended practices | reason |
|---|---|---|
| The title text is written incorrectly or contains typos | Change it in the main text title, then update the table of contents | The text of the table of contents entries comes from the original titles |
| The page numbers don’t match, and the content behind the text has been moved. | Only update page numbers | Pagination changes only affect page numbers, entry text does not need to be redone |
| To add or delete an item | Adjust the title style of the corresponding paragraph, and then update the entire table of contents | Table of contents collects entries by heading style, the structure is determined by the style |
| The format of each line in the directory is not uniform | Modify table of contents style (TOC 1, TOC 2, etc.) | The format of each line is uniformly controlled by the directory style, and line-by-line adjustments will be lost during updates. |
| The directory was pasted from elsewhere and cannot be updated. | Automatic directory reinsertion after deletion | The manually entered table of contents is not a domain and cannot be updated with the text. |
Before you start: Confirm these points first
Before taking action, first determine whether the directory is automatically generated, which determines how to change it later.
- Confirm whether the directory is a domain: Click the directory. If a gray shading appears around the directory, it usually means that it is an automatic directory. Most of the text without shading is manually entered text, which can be changed directly, but it will not be automatically updated in the future.
- Confirm that the title uses a heading style: The table of contents only collects paragraphs with heading styles (such as Heading 1, Heading 2). Ordinary text will not be included in the table of contents even if the font size is large and bold.
- Confirm which places have been manually changed: If you have changed the text in the table of contents before, these changes will disappear when updating the entire table of contents. Write down the content you want to keep first, or change it back to the text title before updating.
- Confirm whether the pagination will still change: If you need to add or delete content later, it is recommended to change all the text first and then update the table of contents uniformly to avoid repeated updates.
Steps to add an entry to the generated table of contents in Word
Let's take "add a new section between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3" as an example. The core of the operation is: first let the new title appear in the text, and then refresh the table of contents.
- Open the document, find the position in the text where you want to add the table of contents, and place the cursor on the paragraph.
- Enter the new title text, and then set this paragraph to the corresponding title style, such as Title 2, keeping the level consistent with the preceding and following titles.
- Check the context of this paragraph to make sure it is indeed a stand-alone section and not an emphatic sentence within the text.
- Click anywhere in the directory to select it, and then select the command to update the directory.
- Select Update the entire directory in the pop-up option so that the new entries will be added.
- Check the directory to confirm that the new entry is at the correct level and that the order of the previous and subsequent entries is not out of order.
If you want to delete a paragraph, change the style of the corresponding text paragraph back to the text, and then update the entire table of contents in the same way.
If you use a web editor to process Word files, you can open the .docx file in the UniDoc web editor (app.unidoc.top), which supports conversion to and from Word format. After editing is completed, please check again in the exported Word file whether the directory can be updated normally, because whether the domain structure of the directory is complete depends on the final file.
Check each item after completion
After the catalog is updated, check it item by item to avoid changing only one area and leaving problems in other places.
| Check item | What do you think? | What if there's a problem? |
|---|---|---|
| Entry text | Compare with the title of the text one by one, pay attention to punctuation and spaces | Go back to the text and change the title of the original text, then update the catalogue |
| Page number | Turn to several key pages to see if the page number is the same as the title page. | Select to update the page number, and if it is still wrong, check for section breaks or manual paging |
| Hierarchical indentation | The top grid of the first-level title and the indentation of the second-level title | Check whether the title style is set correctly, and update the whole catalogue after changing it. |
| Are there any extra entries? | See if there are any paragraphs that are just bold and have no heading style into the directory. | Change the misplaced paragraph back to the body style |
| Catalog format | Is the font, line spacing and tab leader uniform? | Modify the catalog style instead of adjusting it line by line |
| Whether manual changes are retained or not | Compare whether the items that were manually changed before are still there. | Change back to the title of the body, and then don't change the catalogue text directly. |
# Core comparison
There are usually three ways to modify the directory, the application is different, the choice mainly depends on whether the document will change after the document.
| Practice | An appropriate situation | Main cost |
|---|---|---|
| Directly change the catalogue text | I only intend to submit the manuscript at one time, and then I will not update the catalogue. | Changes may be lost with any update |
| Update after modifying the body title | A long document, paper or report that requires multiple revisions | Every time you change it, you have to go back to the text, just one more step. |
| Reinsert the directory | The directory has been confused and has been manually modified in many places. | To restyle the catalog, the original manual changes need to be redone |
# frequently asked questions (FAQ)
1. After updating the catalogue, why did the text I changed manually change back?
Because when you update the entire directory, Word regenerates the entry text by title. Put the changes in the title of the text and the catalogue will always be consistent.
2. Only the page number has been changed, can you not move the text?
Sure. Only updating the page number will retain the entry text of the directory, and only recalculate the page number, which is suitable for the paging change after the text is added or deleted.
3. Why didn't the new title appear in the catalog?
In most cases, the paragraph is not styled as a title, or the style just looks like a title. Check the style name of the paragraph, make sure it is a title class style, and then update the entire catalog.
4. Can the font and line spacing of the directory be changed uniformly?
Sure. Modifying catalog styles (such as TOC 1, TOC 2) unifies fonts, font sizes, line spacing, and indentation at all corresponding levels, making it less error-prone than line-by-line adjustment.
# Summary
To modify the generated catalogue, the key is to correct the title of the text first, and then update the catalogue, rather than directly changing the text in the catalog. The page number problem only needs to update the page number, and the addition and deletion of entries depends on the title style. According to the above steps and checklist operation, the directory can remain accurate after many modifications.
