Table of contents

Table of Contents, allows to insert an automated table of contents in a document. The entries or contents of this
table are automatically taken from the headings and sub headings of the document. Also, these contents are
hyperlinked in the table. So by clicking on any topic in the table of contents, we can navigate directly to the selected
topic.

Hierarchy of headings

LibreOffice Writer supports up to 10 levels of headings H1 to H10. These headings are applied to the headings of the
document.

Once the desired heading styles are applied in the document, the same hierarchy will be reflected in the table of
contents also.

Creating a table of contents (ToC)

Before you start creating the table of contents or ToC in a document, you must ensure that proper heading styles,
such as Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 and so on are inserted in the document. The correct ToC will be generated
only if proper paragraph styling for headings is applied to the document.

By default, the checkbox for Protected against Manual Changes option is selected. This protects the ToC from any
accidental change. If this box is unchecked, then the contents of ToC can be changed directly on the document page,
just like any other text on the document. In the Create Index or Table of Contents List box, the Entire Document
option is selected in the For list box. So the ToC will be automatically created from the headings and sub-headings of
entire document. The Outline check box is selected, so the complete outline of the ToC is shown in the preview. Click
and deselect it if you do not want to see it.

Note that all the headings will appear with page numbers in the ToC. The entries in the ToC are hyperlinked. Moving a
mouse pointer over any of the entries will show a tool tip stating to press Ctrl+click to open hyperlink followed by the
heading title. Pressing Ctrl+click the cursor will directly move on to the selected section heading.

Customization of ToC Once the ToC is inserted, we can customise it according to our requirements. To do so, right
click anywhere on the ToC and select Edit Index option from the popup menu.

The Table of Contents, Index or Bibliography dialog box will be displayed as shown in Fig. 3.7. As seen in the previous
section, the dialog box has five tabs – Type, Entries, Styles, Columns and Background. The options in these tabs can
be used to edit the table in various ways. The changes made will be reflected in the Preview section of the dialog box.

Type Tab: is active by default after opening the Table of Contents, Entries or Bibliography dialog box to insert the ToC.
Entries Tab: contains options to set styles for various entries in the ToC. Styles Tab: contains options to apply the
desired styles to the text of each level in the table of contents. Columns Tab: contains options to set the number of
columns that we want to have in our ToC. Background Tab: contains options to change the background of the ToC as
shown in Fig. 3.8. The current background color will be displayed in the Active Color window.

To remove the background colour from the ToC, click None button present on the top of the dialog box.

LibreOffice Writer also allows to add a graphic as a background of the ToC. For this, select the Bitmap button in the
Background tab of the dialog box. Select the desired graphic option and click OK button.

Maintaining a Table of Contents

As we know now that a table of contents is a snapshot of the entire document at any given point in time. If any
changes are made to the document section headings or page numbering, it should be reflected in the Table of
Contents as well. Maintaining a Table of Contents consists of updating and deleting the ToC.

Updating the ToC

Writer does not update the ToC automatically.

To delete the ToC, right click on the table and select Delete Index option from the pop-up menu. The ToC will be
deleted.

Using templates

A template is a preset layout that helps to create professional and/or formal documents easily. Sometimes there is a
need to copy specific content including graphics, such as logo of a company, image of a product or text, such as tag
lines of a product or a company, legal notices or even headers and footers in multiple documents. Instead of adding
and then formatting the objects in all documents, we can use templates. For example, templates can be used to
create a resume, chapter or project report. A template can contain all the features or objects that a regular
document can contain – text, graphics, styles and can even use any language. In a template we can create and save
defined headings, text formats, styles, page numbers, headers and footers. When new documents are created from
these templates, they have the same content segregation, formatting features and appearance as that of the applied
templates. At the same time, Writer also allows us to edit the styles and contents of the document to which the
template is applied. All documents in Writer are based upon templates. If no specific template is specified, then
Writer uses the default template as blank document template for the file being created.

Check the template of the document. To see what template is associated with a document, select Properties option
from the File menu. The Properties dialog box will be displayed. Since the document was created from the default
template, no template is listed.

Creating a Template

It is also possible to create your own template and save the current styles and appearance of a document for future
use.

Using In-built/Saved Templates

LibreOffice allows to use the in-built templates, online templates as well as the templates created and saved by us.
Using Online Templates LibreOffice provides a wide range of online templates, which can be downloaded from
Internet. Once these templates are installed on the computer, they will appear in Templates window.

Importing a Template

Once a template is downloaded and saved in any file or folder, it is possible to import it so that it is visible in the list
of templates in the Templates dialog box.

Setting up a custom Default Template

Any template can be set as a default template. Writer gives a blank document as a default template.

Moving a template When you place a mouse pointer on any of the templates in the Templates dialog box, a tool tip
appears displaying the name of the template and its respective category.

Exporting a template

Export template feature allows to store the template file in the desired folder on your computer. It is different from
moving a template from one category folder to another. When a template is exported, it is saved as a template file at
any desired location. Exporting the template is a useful feature for sharing the templates with multiple users.

Applying Templates to a Blank Document

You can apply the template from the available template list to any blank document.

Track Changes Feature

Track Changes is a powerful tool that makes the process of commenting, editing and reviewing of a document easy
between multiple users. A document created by one user need to be reviewed and edited by self or other users. If
any modifications are made in the document directly, the original document might get lost. Instead, the Track
Changes feature of Writer offers an alternative method to keep a record of all the changes made in the original
document. All the changes that are recorded can be either accepted or rejected by the original author. Furthermore,
the Track Changes feature also gives us the option to add comments while reviewing a document.

The Track Changes toolbar contains various tools that help to track the changes made by different users. To view the
Track Changes toolbar, from main menu bar, select View > Toolbars > Track Changes. The Track Changes toolbar will
appear in the bottom left corner of the Writer window.

The various buttons present on the Track Changes toolbar are briefly explained below.

(a) View Track Changes – Clicking on this button displays all the changes made in the document by different users.

(b) Record Track Changes – Clicking on this button, turns on the Track Changes feature. After this, any sort of editing
done will be marked. Any character added to the document will be displayed in a different colour and any deletion
done will be seen in strike-through style.

(c) Previous Track Changes/Next Track Changes – Click on these buttons to navigate between the changes made.

(d) Accept/Accept All Track Changes – Once the editing is done, the original author may accept the change made to
the document by clicking Accept All Track Changes button will accept all the changes made to the document.

(e) Reject/Reject All Track Changes – The original author of the document may reject a single change or all changes
made to the document by clicking Reject Track Changes or Reject All Track Changes button, respectively.

(f) Manage Track Changes – By clicking on this button the Manage Changes dialog box is displayed, which contains a
detailed list of all changes made to the document along with the author’s name and date and time of modification.

(g) Insert Comment – This button is used to add a comment in a document.

Preparing a Document for Review

Track Changes feature is used when a document is shared with one or more users for review or editing purposes. So,
before the document is shared, one should make sure that the changes made should be recorded. This will ensure
that after the review is done, the original author of the document has the option to accept or reject the changes
made. Hence, before the document is sent for review, the original author should prepare the document for review
and start recording the changes being made. For that, select Edit > Track Changes > Record option. Alternatively,
select the Record button from the Track Changes toolbar. To make sure that no user is able to disable the track
changes option, we can protect the document with password.

Recording Changes

Once the Track Changes features is ON, the reviewers can begin recording the changes in the document. For that,
click Edit > Track Changes > Record option. Alternatively select Record button from the toolbar. The shortcut key to
start recording the changes is Ctrl+Shift+C. Once the Record option is selected, the Track Changes feature is ON. Now,
any character being deleted will be shown as strike through text and any character added will be shown in different
colour as shown in Fig. 3.35. Also when you place the mouse pointer over any of the changes, a tool tip is displayed
giving details of the author, change made, date and time of change done. To stop recording, deselect the record
option by selecting Edit > Track Changes > Record or click the Record button on the toolbar.

Accepting and Rejecting Changes

Once the changes are made by all the reviewers, the original author may accept or reject them.

Adding Comments

To add comments while reviewing, we can use the Track Changes toolbar as well. Click at the place in the document
where the comment is to be placed. If more than one or two of users add comments then the comments by different
users will be shown in different coloured comment boxes.
Deleting Comments

To delete any comment, click on the down arrow on the bottom right of the comment box. A popup menu will be
displayed. It gives the option to delete only the current comment, all comments by a particular author and to delete
all comments.

Comparing Documents

Once the reviewers have made the changes and given their comments, Writer allows to compare the original
document with the reviewed document and then choose the option(s) that suits the best.