The Table of Contents That Won't Update
Sofia built a 30-page training manual. She inserted an automatic table of contents on page 2. Later she renamed three chapters, deleted one, and added two new ones using the same heading styles. She clicks 'Update Table' and chooses 'Update page numbers only'. The TOC still lists the deleted chapter and is missing the two new ones. She concludes the TOC is 'broken' and plans to rebuild it from scratch and type the entries manually so it 'stays correct'.
1. Explain why the TOC is out of date and what update option she should choose.
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The TOC is a field populated from heading-styled paragraphs. 'Update page numbers only' refreshes just the numbers, leaving the entry text and list unchanged - so renamed, deleted, and added headings don't appear.
She should choose Update entire table, which regenerates both the entries and page numbers from the current headings. Because the new chapters use the same heading styles, they will be picked up automatically. No rebuild is needed; the TOC is functioning correctly, just updated with the wrong option.
2. Why is manually typing the TOC a bad plan, and what must she ensure about the new chapters for the automatic TOC to include them?
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Manually typed entries:
- Won't update when pages shift, so page numbers go stale immediately.
- Lose hyperlink/navigation function and consistent formatting.
- Must be redone on every future edit - high error risk on a 30-page doc.
For the automatic TOC to include the new chapters, each chapter title must use an actual heading style (Heading 1/2) at the level the TOC is set to collect (check TOC Options / 'Show levels'). If a new chapter was formatted manually (bold/large) rather than styled, it will be omitted - so she should apply the heading style, then Update entire table.