Use this guide for reports, dissertations, manuals or any document longer than a few pages. Have your text written or pasted in, and open it in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.
Step by step
Clear messy manual formatting
Select all the text and use Clear All Formatting in Word or Clear formatting in Google Docs, so everything starts from the Normal style. Pasted text often brings hidden fonts and spacing with it. Do this on a copy if you are nervous about losing anything.
Apply heading styles
Put the cursor in each chapter or section title and choose Heading 1 from the Styles gallery or style menu. Use Heading 2 for sub-sections and Heading 3 below that. Avoid making headings simply by enlarging or bolding text, because the contents page and navigation rely on real styles.
Adjust styles once, not every heading
To change how all headings look, right-click Heading 1 in Word and choose Modify, or in Google Docs format one heading and choose Update heading to match. Set the font, size and spacing before and after paragraphs. Every heading of that level then updates together.
Add page numbers and breaks
Insert page numbers from the Insert menu, usually in the footer. Start each main chapter on a new page with Insert, Page Break, rather than pressing Enter repeatedly. This keeps layout stable when you edit earlier pages.
Insert an automatic contents page
Place the cursor where the contents should go, then choose References, Table of Contents in Word or Insert, Table of contents in Google Docs. It builds itself from your headings. After edits, click Update Table or the refresh icon so page numbers stay correct.
Check with the navigation pane
Open the Navigation Pane in Word from the View tab, or the document outline in Google Docs. Every heading should appear in the right order and level, and you can drag sections to reorder them in Word. Fix any missing or oddly indented entries by applying the correct style.
Ready-to-use checklist
- Clean copy of the document saved
- Manual formatting cleared
- Heading 1, 2 and 3 applied consistently
- Heading styles adjusted in one place
- Page numbers added
- Page breaks used for chapters
- Automatic contents page inserted and updated
- Outline checked in navigation pane
Practical tips
- Save the finished styles as a template so your next report starts with the same look.
- Use Paste as text only or Keep Text Only when copying from websites to avoid bringing in stray formatting.
- Real heading styles also make documents easier to use with screen readers, which helps accessibility.
Common problems
Some headings are missing from the contents page.
Those lines are probably bold or large Normal text rather than a heading style. Apply the correct Heading style to each one, then update the table of contents.
The contents page shows the wrong page numbers.
Automatic tables do not refresh on their own every time you edit. In Word right-click the table and choose Update Field, then Update entire table, and in Google Docs click the refresh icon beside the table.
Page numbers start on the cover page.
In Word, open the footer and tick Different First Page so the cover has no number, and use Format Page Numbers to choose the starting number. Google Docs offers a similar option to hide the number on the first page when inserting page numbers.
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