How to make content automatically in Word 2010: step-by-step instructions and tips

One of the essential elements of a multi-page document is content. In addition to the fact that it helps any person to navigate the text, the table of contents gives it solidity. This article will talk about how to automatically make content in Word 2010.

Preparing to insert a table of contents: style settings

The styles that are used by default to create a table of contents do not comply with generally accepted standards for document processing. Therefore, they must be properly configured. This is done as follows:

  • In the "Home" section of the toolbar in the "Styles" block, click on the small button in the lower right corner of the block or use the hotkey Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S.
  • In the window that appears on the right, hover over the line "Title 1".
  • Click on the button that appears on the right side. In the list that opens, select "Edit."
  • In the new dialog box, set the style to fit the rest of the text and click OK.
    style customization




  • Repeat the previous 2 steps for the styles "Heading 2", "Heading for table of contents 1", "Table of contents 1.2".

At this point, the preparation to do the content automatically in Word 2010, as intended, is completed.





Table of contents insert

To add content to a document using the built-in tool for this, you need to:

  • Select the name of the section, chapter or paragraph and apply to it one of the previously configured styles "Heading No. 1,2 or 3".

Note. The larger the number, the lower the importance of the section. This allows you to make a table of contents in Word 2010 automatically with subtitles, as is sometimes required. In the finished content, the headings of the 2nd and 3rd level are shifted to the right relative to the main ones.

Tag Headers




  • Repeat the previous step until all section and subsection names are marked.
  • Switch to the Links tab.
  • In the "Table of Contents" block, click on the button with the same name.
  • In the list that opens, select the "Automatic table of contents" item.
    Table of contents insert




After that, the block with the content will be added to the place where the cursor was placed. If you need to make a table of contents automatically in Word 2010 from the 2nd page, as is often required, then after the title page a blank page or its break is inserted. You can do this using the buttons of the same name located in the "Pages" block of the "Insert" tab or using the hot key Ctrl + Enter.





Sometimes the Links tab is missing from the toolbar. Sometimes this happens due to editor settings failing. To return the tab back, you need:

  • Click the "File" button and select "Options".
link return




  • In the new window, go to the "Ribbon Settings" section.
  • In the right pane, check the box next to the "Links" line.
  • Click on OK to save the settings.
no link tab




After this manipulation, to make a table of contents in Word 2010 automatically, if there is no “Link”, as usual, is not difficult.

Customize the appearance of the table of contents

After presetting the styles made earlier, the inserted table of contents is not highlighted in the background of the main text. But the content design settings are not limited to this. A dialog box with additional parameters is called up as follows:

  • Go to the "Links" tab.
  • In the "Table of Contents" block, click on the button with the same name.
  • In the list that appears, select the sub-item "Insert table of contents".
design customization 3




In a new window, you can configure:

  1. Display pagination.
  2. The distance between the numbers and section names.
  3. The presence of dots or dashed lines between them.

After changing the settings, click OK and agree to re-insert the table of contents.

In this way, how to automatically make the content in the "Word 2010" beautiful and neat, completed.

Editing and Deleting

Editing the inserted table of contents is quite simple. To add new paragraphs, just apply one of the heading styles to the titles of the new sections. If any sections were changed or deleted when editing the text, then when updating the structure of the content, the changes are duplicated in it.

table of contents update




Tip. After making all the changes or before printing, you should always update the table of contents. This can be done using the "Refresh Table" button in the "Links" tab or by clicking on the content and pressing F9. Otherwise, instead of numbering, the error “Bookmark not defined” will appear on paper.

To completely remove the table of contents from the document, you need to click the "Table of Contents" button in the "Links" tab, and then click on the "Delete Table of Contents" line in the drop-down list.

table of contents removal




There is only one way to make content automatically in Word 2010; there is one way to use it in other versions of the editor: 2007, 2013, 2016.




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