Table of Contents

How to Update a Table of Contents After Adding or Editing Headings

Rumman Ansari July 31, 2026 1 views Subject Details

MICROSOFT WORD TUTORIAL

How to Update a Table of Contents After Adding or Editing Headings

Changed your document? Keep your Table of Contents accurate with a single click.

Why You Need to Update the TOC

A Table of Contents does not refresh itself the moment you edit your document. If you add a new chapter, rename a heading, or your text shifts to different pages, the TOC keeps showing the old information until you tell Word to update it.

Remember: The TOC is a snapshot. After any change to your headings or page layout, you must update it to see the changes reflected.

Think of It Like a Photo

The TOC captures a picture of your headings at one moment. When the document changes, you take a fresh picture by pressing Update — and everything lines up again.

Step-by-Step: Update Your Table of Contents

Click the Table of Contents

Select it first.

Click anywhere inside the existing Table of Contents so that Word knows which table you want to refresh.

Go to References > Update Table

Or use the shortcut.

On the References tab, select Update Table. You can also simply press F9 after selecting the TOC.

Choose What to Update

Two options appear.

A dialog box asks you to pick Update page numbers only or Update entire table. Choose the one that fits your change (see the comparison below).

Select OK

Done!

Click OK, and Word instantly rebuilds your Table of Contents with the latest headings and page numbers.

"Update Page Numbers Only" vs. "Update Entire Table"

Option	What It Does	Use When
Update page numbers only	Refreshes page numbers but ignores any changes to heading text	You only added/removed content and pages shifted
Update entire table	Refreshes both heading text and page numbers	You added, renamed, or deleted headings

Safe default: When in doubt, choose Update entire table. It catches every change — both text and page numbers.

Quicker Method: Right-Click

Shortcut Right-click anywhere in the Table of Contents and choose Update Field. Then pick Update page numbers only or Update entire table and select OK.

Note: A manually created Table of Contents (where you typed the entries yourself) cannot be updated by Word. You'll need to edit those entries by hand.

Pro Tips

Press F9 after clicking the TOC for the fastest update.
Always update the TOC as the last step before printing or exporting to PDF.
If a new heading still won't appear, confirm it has a Heading style applied, then update again.
Update the entire table after renaming any heading — page-numbers-only won't catch text changes.

Key Takeaway

Your Table of Contents stays accurate only when you refresh it. Just click the TOC, choose References > Update Table (or press F9), and pick Update entire table to capture every change.