Did you know that it is possible to create an automatic and personalized summary in Microsoft Word in just a few clicks? And yet many people do not know how to proceed.
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Tables of contents are important tools that help you organize your document, include page numbers, and allow your readers to quickly find the information they are looking for, especially in documents with many pages. In this article, we explain in detail step by step how to create, customize and modify a summary in Word.
Microsoft’s word processing software is one of the most widely used programs in the world. Not only because it was one of the first office software, but it has also evolved over time and benefited from Microsoft expertise to optimize the user interface and features. The famous ribbon interface gives you quick access to the tools so you can customize your document the way you want.
Even before you create your summary
Before creating a table of contents, you need to structure the content of your document using appropriate heading styles. You should use the predefined heading styles in Word (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) and you can customize them to your liking (boldness, colors, alignment, size, etc.). To apply a heading style to a heading, select the text and click the appropriate heading style on the Home tab. Note that it is possible to add new title styles. They allow you to prioritize your content with the main topics in Title 1 and their subtitles in Title 2, etc. Note that you can also find styles for citations and references and create new styles based on your needs and tastes.
Place your cursor where you want to insert the table of contents, click Table of Contents on the References tab, and then select the style of table of contents you want. Word offers different types of tables of contents, e.g. B. “Automatic table of contents” or “Classic table of contents”. If none of the provided TOC styles are appropriate, click Insert TOC at the bottom of the list to see more options.
After you insert the table of contents, you can customize it by clicking Table of Contents on the References tab and then selecting Customize Table of Contents. Here you can adjust the font, size, and spacing, change the heading levels to include, and make other settings for your table of contents.
If you change the structure of your document (by adding, deleting, or moving headings), you’ll need to update the table of contents to reflect the desired changes. In fact, this doesn’t happen automatically when you add a new title, for example. To do this, click the summary and then click Update Field in the contextual toolbar that appears. You can choose to update the entire table of contents or just the page numbers.
As simple as that! You don’t need to take any training or watch complicated video tutorials. A well-designed table of contents not only allows you to effectively organize your document, but also makes it easier for your readers to read and navigate. Feel free to try these steps in your next Word document and see how an automatic summary can save you time and effort.
If you wish to purchase Microsoft Word, note that this word processing software is part of the Microsoft Office Office suite (perpetual license) or Microsoft 365 with subscription (so you can benefit from any software upgrades) and also includes Excel. PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook and others, depending on the edition you choose. It is compatible with Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS and online services.