☞ Table of Contents allows to insert an automated table of contents in a document.
☞ The entries or contents of this table are automatically taken from the headings and sub headings of the document.
☞ Also, these contents are hyperlinked in the table.
☞ Before studying ToC, we will understand first Hierarchy of headings.
☞ LibreOffice writer supports upto 10 levels of headings H1 to H10.
☞ These headings are applied to the headings of the document.
☞ To apply these headings, follow these steps:
Step 1: Create a document and Enter the text heading 1 to 10.
Step 2: Open Styles window → Paragraph Style → Headings.
Step 3: Apply different headings to the document as per requirement.
☞ Before creating ToC, make ensure that proper heading styles are inserted in the document.
☞ To create table of content, follow these steps:
Step 1: Open the document.
Step 2: Place the cursor where ToC is to be inserted.
Step 3: Select Insert → Table of Contents and Index → Table of Contents, Index or Bibliography.
Step 4: The table of content, index and Bibliography dialog box appears, In type tab, You can change the name in Title text box and the changes will be reflect in the preview section.
Step 5: Click on OK button.
☞ The entries in the ToC are hyperlinked. Pressing Ctrl+click the cursor will directly move on to the selected section heading.
Note: By default, the checkbox for Protected against Manual Changes option is selected. This protects the ToC from any accidental change. If this box is unchecked, then the contents of ToC can be changed directly on the document page, just like any other text on the document.☞ Once the ToC is inserted, we can customise it according to our requirements.
☞ To do so, right click anywhere on the ToC and select Edit Index option from the popup menu.
☞ The Table of Contents, Index or Bibliography dialog box has five tabs:
1. Type 2. Entries 3. Styles 4. Columns 5. Background.
☞ Type Tab: It is active by default after opening the Table of Contents, Entries or Bibliography dialog box to insert the ToC.
☞ Entries Tab: It contains options to set styles for various entries in the ToC.
☞ Styles Tab: It contains options to apply the desired styles to the text of each level in the table of contents.
☞ Columns Tab: It contains options to set the number of columns that we want to have in our ToC.
☞ Background Tab: It contains options to change thebackground of the ToC. The current background color will be displayed in the Active Color window.
☞ To apply a custom paragraph style to any level, follow these steps:
Step 1: Click on Styles tab of Table of Contents, Entries or Bibliography dialog box.
Step 2: Click and Select the level from the Levels list box.
Step 3: Click and Select the desired paragraph style from the Paragraph Styles list box.
Step 4: Click OK button to apply the selected styles.
Note: To remove the applied paragraph styling, select the desired level in the Levels list box, and then click the Default button.☞ To change the background color, follow these steps:
Step 1: Open Table of Content, Entries or Bibliography dialog box.
Step 2: Click on Background tab → Color button.
Step 3: Select the desired color from the Colors palette.
Step 4: Click OK to apply the desired color to the ToC.
Note: To remove the background colour from the ToC, click None button present on the top of the dialog box.☞ To add a graphic as a background of ToC, follow these steps:
Step 1: Open Table of Content, Entries or Bibliography dialog box.
Step 2: Click on background tab → Bitmap button.
Step 3: Select the desired graphic option and click OK button.
☞ As we know that, a table of contents is a snapshot of the entire document.
☞ If any changes are made to the document section headings or page numbering, it should be reflected in the Table of Contents as well.
☞ Maintaining a Table of Contents consists of updating and deleting the ToC.
☞ Writer does not update the ToC automatically.
☞ To update ToC, follow these steps:
Step 1: Make changes(add or delete) in the document.
Step 2: Right-click anywhere in the ToC.
Step 3: Now, Select Update Index option.
☞ To delete the ToC, right click on the table and select Delete Index option from the pop-up menu. The ToC will be deleted.