Writer Automatic Table of Contents

LibreOffice Writer’s best method for generating a table of contents is to apply the predefined “Heading N” paragraph styles, such as “Heading 1”, to the paragraphs you want included. However, the table of contents is not updated automatically; it must be inserted and updated manually.

Start with heading styles

Writer’s automatic table of contents (TOC) is built from the headings formatted as the "Heading N" paragraph styles. So first, apply these styles in Writer.

1. Place your cursor in the first section title and select Heading 1 (or Heading 2, Heading 3 for sub-sections) in the Paragraph Style box.
2. Continue until you have applied the appropriate "Heading N" style to every section title in your document.

Choosing these predefined Heading styles is the key to a reliable TOC. Applying them consistently to your document’s sections tells Writer what is important to list.

Insert the table of contents

Here’s how:

1. Choose Insert - Table of Contents and Index - Table of Contents, Index or Bibliography. A dialog opens.
2. In the dialog, open the Type tab, then select “Table of Contents” in the Type box and click OK. The table of contents is inserted at the current cursor position from the Insert - Table of Contents and Index menu.

At any time, you can add a fresh copy of the TOC in a new place in your document by simply replaying the Insert command.

Keep it current

After you change headings or rearrange content, update the table of contents yourself, because Writer does not update it automatically. This is something that most writers that use Word will be familiar with.

The key is knowing where to find the update: right-click anywhere in the TOC and choose Update Index from the popup menu. There is also a menu command: Tools - Update - All Indexes and Tables.

Close with the practical next step

Your first action should be to apply Heading styles.

So, to start this TOC process, do that consistent labeling:

1. Open your manuscript in the Writer tool.
2. Style the headings, to identify them.
3. Choose Insert - Table of Contents and Index - Table of Contents, Index or Bibliography.
4. Begin to define the way you want the headings to appear.
5. Prepare to update the changes to the table of contents often.