How to Create a Table of Contents in Google Docs: Easy Steps

Struggling to navigate long documents in Google Docs? A Table of Contents can make your document more organized and easier to scan. Whether you're working on a report, thesis, or business proposal, knowing how to create a Table of Contents in Google Docs can save time and improve clarity for your readers.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to generate a Table of Contents, update it automatically, customize the layout, and even manage it on mobile devices. Whether you're working solo or collaborating with a team, adding a Table of Contents helps structure your document and improve accessibility, especially when sharing with others.

How to Create a Table of Contents in Google Docs

Creating a Table of Contents in Google Docs is a great way to make long documents easier to navigate. Follow these steps to add a TOC:

Step 1: Open the Google Document

Open Google Docs and select the document which you need to create a Table of Contents. After selecting your required document you are required to format your document using headings and subheadings. These headings will act as the sections and subsections in your TOC.

Step 2: Select the Text

Highlight the Tittle of the Paragraph

Step 3: Click the Styles menu and select a heading

Next, you need to click on the Styles menu and select your required heading style as shown in the below image.

Step 4: Select the Position to Insert TOC

After completion of creating heading styles for each section, you can place your cursor where you want Table of Contents to appear in your document. Typically, it's always at the beginning, but you can insert it wherever you prefer in the document.

• Next, Click on the "Insert" option at the top menu list.

Step 5: Go to the Insert Tab, Click on Table of Content and Choose your Preferred Style

• First, Click on the "Insert" menu at the top of your Google Docs window.
• Next, you can select "Table of contents":
• After you see these options: then hover your mouse over "Table of contents".
   

• "Plain text": By clicking this option it will generate a TOC with plain text.
• "Dotted text": By clicking this option it will generate a TOC with dotted text.
• "Links": By clicking this option it will create a TOC with clickable links to the sections.

Step 6: Preview the Result

"Links" is recommended because it allows readers to easily navigate your document by clicking on the links in the TOC.

How to Update the Table of Contents in Google Docs

Keeping your document's Table of Contents (TOC) up-to-date is vital for ensuring that your readers can seamlessly navigate through your content. Follow the Steps to Update the table of contents.

Step 1: Right-click on the TOC and Select Update Table of Content

After adding or removing sections, right-click on the TOC and select "Update Table of Contents" to refresh it.

Step 2: Preview the Updated TOC

Click on the TOC to ensure that it reflects the latest changes in your document.

How to Customize the Table of Content in Google Docs

If you need to customize the appearance of your Table of Contents, you can do it simply by modifying the formatting of the headings and subheadings in your required document. You can add Changes to the text size, font, or style will be reflected in the TOC.

Step 1: Click on the TOC and Select Bold

Step 2: Preview the Bold text of TOC

In the below TOC we have changed the Table of Contents into "Bold Text " Format:

Step 3: Review and Edit TOC

After completing generating the Table of Contents, you can review it to ensure that it accurately reflects the actual structure of your document. you can check whether each section and subsection is correctly linked or not.

• For example, In the below TOC I have changed the Subsection name:
• You can even edit your Table of Contents text format as you please and you can add your custom colors:

How to Add a New Section to TOC

Adding new sections to your TOC is easy:

Step 1: To add a new section, create a new Heading

Add new headings or subheadings to your document

Step 2: Click the Table of Content and Press the Refresh Icon

Click the refresh icon on the TOC to include the new sections.

Step 3: Preview Result

After clicking on the Refresh icon you can see the changes "Importance of Java" is added as a new section in the Table of Contents.

How to Create a Table of Contents in Google Docs Mobile

Creating a Table of Contents (TOC) in Google Docs on a mobile phone is possible but it requires a bit of manual effort. The mobile app doesn't have an automatic TOC generation feature like the desktop version.

These are the required steps to create a manual Table of Contents on a mobile device:

Step 1: Format Your Document with Required Headings

• First, select the document which you need to create a Table of Contents.
• After selecting your required document you are required to format your document using headings and subheadings. These headings will act as the sections and subsections in your TOC.

Heading 1: Main section titles (e.g., "Introduction," "Methodology").

Heading 2: Subsection titles (e.g., "Data Collection," "Data Analysis").

Heading 3: Sub-subsection titles (if necessary).

You can format your text as a heading:

• Select the text you want to format as a heading.
• Tap the "A" icon in the top toolbar to access the formatting options.
• Choose the appropriate heading level (e.g., Heading 1, Heading 2) from the dropdown menu.

Now, you can manually create a Table of Contents:

Step 2: Manually Create a Table of Content

• Select or scroll to the top of your document where you need to insert the Table of Contents.
• Next Type "Table of Contents" or your required title in your preferred format style.

• Next, List out all the headings and subheadings in the order they appear in your document. You can do this manually by typing them and formatting them as plain text or preferred format.

Step 3: Add the Hyperlinks to the Table of Contents

Select and add each heading in your Table of Contents, you need to manually add the required hyperlinks to the corresponding section in your document:

• First, Tap on the first heading in your Table of Contents e.g."Introduction".

• Next, Tap and Highlight the text.
• Select and tap on the "Link" icon in the top toolbar (it looks like a chain link).
• Next, Click on the "+" (Insert) icon and click on the link option.

• Next, In the below "Link" dialog box, enter the link location. This location should correspond to your heading within your document so that it redirects to the required location.

• Next, Click on the Tick mark to create the hyperlink.
• Finally, You can observe the changes below and the hyperlink is created successfully.

• Next, Follow and Repeat the same steps 1-6 for each heading in your Table of Contents.
• You can Repeat the same process and You can change fonts, colours, and alignments as needed.

Step 4: Update the changes Manually

• Unlike the desktop version of Google Docs, the mobile app version does not provide any automatic updates for the Table of Contents. suppose you have made changes to your document (e.g., adding, removing, or rearranging the sections in your document), you will then need to manually update the Table of Contents to reflect those changes.

Creating a Table of Contents on the Google Docs mobile app is more manual compared to the desktop version, but it can still be useful for providing navigation within your document.

How to Delete a Table of Content in Google Docs

Follow the Steps to Delete a Table of Content in Google Docs:

Step 1: Right click on the Table of Content

Step 2: Select Delete Table of Content

Conclusion

Adding a Table of Contents to your Google Doc is a simple but powerful way to make your content easier to navigate and more reader-friendly. By following the steps in this guide, you can insert, update, and customize a Table of Contents for any type of document, all without leaving Google Docs. Whether you're using a desktop or mobile device, this feature keeps your writing organized and professional.

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