The Shrinking Table of Contents
You are finalising a 62-page policy manual. Page numbers were inserted with Insert > Page Number in the footer. A table of contents on page 2 was built by typing entries and page numbers manually. After a week of edits, the TOC now lists Section 4 on page 17, but the heading actually appears on page 19. You also notice the footer on the title page shows '1', and your manager wants the title page unnumbered with numbering starting at 1 on the first content page. The document must be delivered as a PDF at 17:00 today, and the reviewer will still make minor wording changes up to 16:30.
1. What is the most reliable way to fix the incorrect TOC page numbers given that edits will continue until 16:30?
Read the worked answer
Replace the manual TOC with an automatic one: apply Heading styles to section titles, then Insert > Table of Contents. An automatic TOC pulls page numbers from the document and can be updated with a right-click > Update Field (update entire table) after the final edits. Manual numbers will break on every reflow, and the 16:30 deadline makes a one-off correction unsafe. If styles were never applied, apply them first; otherwise the automatic TOC will be empty or wrong.
2. How do you make the title page unnumbered while starting numbering at 1 on the first content page?
Read the worked answer
Insert a section break (Next Page) after the title page. In the footer of the second section, turn off 'Link to Previous' so the two sections have independent footers. Delete the page number from the title page footer, then in the second section set Insert > Page Number > Format Page Numbers to 'Start at 1'. This gives an unnumbered title page and content starting at 1 without deleting a page number field that would affect the whole document.
3. The reviewer will still change wording at 16:30. What sequence do you follow before exporting to PDF?
Read the worked answer
Accept the final edits, then update the TOC field, check that page numbering still starts correctly (a section break can shift if content is added), and only then export via File > Export/Save As PDF. Exporting before the update bakes stale numbers into the PDF. A quick visual check of the TOC against two or three headings confirms the update took effect.