What Is Table of Contents: All the Things You Need to Know

The table of contents is a crucial component for both paper materials and online documents. It serves as a valuable tool for navigating and organizing information. In this comprehensive guide by SwifDoo PDF, we will delve into what a table of contents is, exploring its main elements and providing instructions on its creation.

What Is Table of Contents

A table of contents is a navigation tool that provides readers with an overview of writing and helps them quickly locate specific content. It often appears at the beginning of a document as a list. In daily reading, you may find a table of contents headed Contents or abbreviated informally as TOC.

For writers or document generators, a table of contents will help them better organize their work and avoid leaving key points behind.

What Should Be Included in a Table of Contents

A well-formatted table of contents will make your document look more professional. Generally, it should contain the following elements:

How to Make a Table of Contents

Most word processing applications can automatically generate a table of contents based on a document's structure and formatting. The specific steps vary depending on the program you use. For instance, in Microsoft Word, simply click “Reference > Table of Contents”, and select an automatic template you prefer.

If you want to create a table of contents for PDF files, you need a PDF editor. SwifDoo PDF will be handy in this case.

You can extract the existing table of contents in one click with the “Extract TOC” feature.

To create a table of contents from scratch, you can resort to its “Bookmark” feature: simply navigate to the section that you want to include in the TOC and click the "Add Bookmarks" button. You can use the “Ctrl +B” shortcut key to bring up the bookmark window.

After creating a TOC, you can add or remove entries, change the order of entries, and format it.