How to make a table of contents in google docs with page numbers

The steps below will show you how to insert a table of contents into your Google Doc with page numbers or links as seen in this linked Google Doc. Both the page number and link options are created using the same steps so the process is virtually identical.

Assuming you already have a document written, the next thing that you do, is you go to Insert -> Table of contents.

If you choose the option with links, a table of contents like the one below is automatically created.

The table of contents is made dynamically so there may not need to edit it. It is produced from the formatting in your document by using sections and sub-sections. The best way to look at this formatting is through the document outline. Go to Tools and go to Document outline. As shown in the image below, the outline shows where your Title is and where your headers are.

Document styling

Keep in mind that tables of contents does not pick up Titles. You will have to add your title manually if you want it to show.

Docs, however, does pick up the usage of the header styles.

Video explanation

Text tagged as a header

Indentation

The words “In grass lights” are the first words that have a heading tag and they are also the first words that are in the table of contents. If you look at the table of contents and at the outline, some of the items below this first header are indented. That did not happen by creating a Table of contents and hitting tab. The Table of Contents does this automatically because “Kind Replenish” is styled as a heading 2. If I make a Heading 3, it will indent even further to the right.

Formatting a table of contents manually

You can also format items in the table of contents manually if you want to. However, it’s probably best practice to format it right in your document. If you left-click on the table of contents, and select Change, you can change certain items. You can change the names of the links or remove the link and just keep the text.

Conclusion

The steps above are all you really need to create your table of contents. Once you do it one time, you will be ready to go.

Live examples in Docs

Go to this Google Doc for an example of a table of contents that you can study and use anywhere you would like.

Docs can generate a table of contents for your document based on the document’s heading styles. For example, paragraphs formatted with the Heading 1 style would be main headings in the table of contents, paragraphs formatted with the Heading 2 style would be subheadings, and so on.

Insert a Table of Contents

1. Click where you want to add the table of contents.

   A table of contents can take up a lot of space. The best place for a table of contents is a blank page, near the beginning of a document.

2. Click Insert on the menu bar.
3. Select Table of contents.
4. Select a table of contents formatting option.
   • With page numbers
   • With blue links

5. Click an item in the table of contents to open the link pop-up.
6. Click the link to navigate to that section.

The table of contents is inserted, listing all the headings in the document in outline order, as well as the page number that each heading appears on.

Update a Table of Contents

If you make some changes to the headings in your document after the table of contents is created, it can easily be updated.

1. Click in the heading you want to change.
2. Click the Styles list arrow.
3. Select a new heading level.

4. Navigate to the table of contents.
5. Click anywhere in the table of contents.
6. Click the Update table of contents button.

The table of contents is updated to reflect the changes in the document.

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