Table of contents in Google Docs or categories in Google Docs help document viewers read more easily, dividing the content into specific sections. Using a table of contents in Google Docs makes the document layout much easier to follow. For those who create documents in Google Docs, creating a Google Docs table of contents is necessary. Below are instructions for creating a table of contents in Google Docs.
How to create a detailed table of contents in Google Docs
Create Heading title tags in Google Docs
With a document with many sections, you need to create headings Heading 1, 2, 3,… to separate the content.
First you Place the mouse on the line you want to become the titlethen you choose Normal Text section on the toolbar.
We will see now list of title tags to options for each corresponding line in the document, depending on how you arrange them.
- Heading 1: Used for the main titles of sections or chapters in the document.
- Heading 2: subheading, sub-sections of Heading 1.
- Heading 3 (Heading 3): subheadings, smaller sections of Heading 2.
After you select a title for the document, that title line is resized compared to the rest of the content in the document. You continue to create titles for other content lines.
The results are on the left edge of the interface you click on 3 straight lines icon will see the document's layout.
Change the format for the title
After you create a title in Google Docs, you need to change the format, font, and font size accordingly. You click on the title that needs to be formatted, then change the text format again.
Click on the Normal Text sectionselect the headline you're editing, then press Update 'Title 1” to match. Then all headings 1 in the document are formatted as above.
Create a table of contents for a Google Doc document
Step 1:
At the location you want to insert the table of contents in Google Docs, we Click on Insertthen click next Table of Contents section then select table of contents style you want to use.
Step 2:
As a result, you will see the Google Docs document table of contents as shown below.
Click 3 dots icon at the table of contents then press Other options as pictured.
Step 3:
On the right side of the user interface you will see a number of options to change the table of contents style in Google Docs. You can Change title format and leveling with the appropriate indentation distance in mm.
As soon as you apply the new customizations, the table of contents interface changes.
Update table of contents in Google Docs
In the process of editing a Google Docs document, including the title, you just need to click update icon at the table of contents to update the new table of contents in Google Docs.
How to delete table of contents in Google Docs
There are 2 ways for you to delete the table of contents in Google Docs. You can press select 3 dots icon in the left corner of the table of contents then select Delete table of contents.
Or more simply, highlight the entire table of contents area and press the Delete key to delete it.
Video tutorial on creating a table of contents in Google Docs
How to create a table of contents manually
You can create a table of contents manually. This means you will structure the table of contents and then manually link the headings in your Google Doc to the sections.
You won't be able to manually update the table of contents like the table of contents that Google Docs automatically creates. When editing a document title, you will have to edit the Table of Contents manually.
To do that, start by creating your table of contents structure. You can insert a bulleted list or use the Tab key to indent headings. For each item in the table of contents, right-click it and select Insert link in the menu.

If the texts are similar, the title you want to link to will usually appear at the top of the suggested links. If not, click Titles and bookmarks at the bottom of the suggestion box.

You'll see a list of available headings in your document. Click on the title you want to insert into the text.

If your document has multiple headings, you should add a table of contents in case the document will be accessed outside of Google Docs, for example, if you export the document as a PDF or EPUB document. You can even create a table of contents for your Google Slides.