Building a table of contents in Write by Zaweba
Insert > Table of contents in Write by Zaweba lists every heading with page numbers and links, and F9 updates it after you edit.
Any report longer than a few pages benefits from a contents page at the front. It shows the reader how the document is organised and where to find what they need. Typing one by hand is a trap, because every edit moves the page numbers. Write by Zaweba builds the contents for you from your headings and keeps it up to date.
How it is built
Insert > Table of contents makes one entry for each heading in the document. Headings can go from level 1 down to level 9, and each entry is indented according to its level, so the structure of the document is clear at a glance. A dotted leader runs from the heading text to its page number, the classic contents layout.
Each entry is also a link, so you can jump straight to a section by clicking its entry.
Start with headings
The contents page only knows about text that uses heading styles. If you have made headings by typing a line in bold and a bigger size, they won't appear. Apply the heading styles instead: level 1 for main sections, level 2 for the parts within them, and so on. Ctrl+Alt+1, Ctrl+Alt+2 and Ctrl+Alt+3 set the first three heading levels from the keyboard.
The navigation pane is a good way to check your structure before you build the contents. It lists the document's headings, so if something is missing or at the wrong level, you will see it there first.
Most documents need only two or three levels in the contents. A level 4 heading is usually too small a detail for the front of the report. Keep the deep levels for very long technical documents.
Keeping it current
The contents page doesn't change by itself as you write. After editing, click in it and press F9 to update it. New headings appear, removed ones go, renamed ones change, and the page numbers are recalculated. A good habit is to press F9 as the very last step before printing or exporting a PDF.
It travels with the file
The contents page is a real TOC field, the same kind used by other word processors. When you save as .docx and someone opens the file in Word, it is a proper table of contents there too, and Word can update it. Nothing has been flattened into plain text, so the document keeps working wherever it goes.
Laying out the front of a document
A contents page normally sits on its own page after the title. Use a page break after it so the first section starts on a fresh page. If you want the title page and contents to have no page numbers, or different headers, put them in their own section.
Keep heading text short. A long heading makes a long contents line that wraps and looks untidy. "Budget for 2027" works better in a contents list than a full sentence explaining the budget.
Documents that need one
Students writing dissertations and long essays need a contents page more often than not. Club handbooks, policy documents, project reports and instruction manuals all benefit too.
Pair the contents page with good headings, bookmarks for cross-references and clear page numbers in the footer, and a long document becomes easy to find your way around, in print and on screen.
