- From the Home tab in Word, format all chapter titles with the same style
- Highlight each chapter title and apply a style from the Styles section of the tool bar. We recommend using Headings 1 for sections (or chapter titles if your book isn't divided into sections) and Heading 2 for chapter titles or sub-sections
- Repeat this step to apply one style to your sections, one style to your sub-sections, one style to your chapter titles....
- Add a blank page at the beginning of your content (where the TOC will appear)
- If your book has a copyright page, insert the blank page between the copyright page and the rest of your book content
- Keep your cursor at the top of this blank page and switch to the References tab in Word by selecting it from the Word tool bar at the top
- From the References tab, create a Table of Contents (Automatic or Custom)
- Select Table of Contents from the tool bar
- Select Automatic Table 1 or Custom Table of Contents
- For Custom
- Remove the check mark from the Show Page Numbers box
- Change Show Levels to "1"
- Make sure the check box "Use hyperlinks instead of page-numbers" is selected
- Finalize the TOC format for eBooks
- Delete the page numbers and leading dots ("....1 2 3")
- Apply specific styles for the NCX view to be enabled in the Go To Menu of your Kindle device / application
- For title headings to be listed, apply the Titles style to your title
- For chapter titles to be listed, apply the Headings 1 style to all chapter titles
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Create a Table of Contents
Create a Table of Contents in Word
Create a Table of Contents in Word
A working table of contents allows readers to go directly to chapters or sections by clicking links in the table of contents (TOC). This feature is so important to Kindle customers that Amazon requires all Kindle eBooks with chapters or sections to have a working TOC.
Want a tool that can help you create a working TOC quickly and easily? Check out Kindle Create.
Prefer to create a TOC yourself? You can build a working TOC using Microsoft Word (see Microsoft Help pages for more information on creating and formatting TOCs). If you're already familiar with TOC features in Microsoft Word (please note there are multiple versions of Microsoft Word available and some features may change among versions), the Overview below might be all you need. If you need more information on how to use Microsoft Word, check out their support page.
Want a tool that can help you create a working TOC quickly and easily? Check out Kindle Create.
Prefer to create a TOC yourself? You can build a working TOC using Microsoft Word (see Microsoft Help pages for more information on creating and formatting TOCs). If you're already familiar with TOC features in Microsoft Word (please note there are multiple versions of Microsoft Word available and some features may change among versions), the Overview below might be all you need. If you need more information on how to use Microsoft Word, check out their support page.
Overview
PC
To create a table of contents (TOC) in Microsoft Word on your PC in Windows, open your manuscript file in Word and check to make you're starting from the Home tab in your Word toolbar.
To format a working TOC successfully, all content in the TOC will need to have a Style applied to it. The same style will need to be applied to the same items. For example, if your book has ten chapters, each chapter will need to be formatted with the same style (for example, Heading 1). If your book has sub-chapters, each sub-chapter title will need to be formatted with a style (for example, Heading 2).
After you've applied the same style to all of your chapter titles, you'll need to create a blank page where you want the TOC to appear. It should appear before the main content and after front matter (copyright information or the title page).
The TOC will appear with working links to each chapter in your book. However, this TOC needs to be edited for your eBook. With eBooks, readers can change line spacing and font and margin size, so standard page numbers don't apply to eBooks. Because of this, the TOC numbers in your Word file don't apply and need to be removed to avoid confusing your readers.
To format a working TOC successfully, all content in the TOC will need to have a Style applied to it. The same style will need to be applied to the same items. For example, if your book has ten chapters, each chapter will need to be formatted with the same style (for example, Heading 1). If your book has sub-chapters, each sub-chapter title will need to be formatted with a style (for example, Heading 2).
To apply a style to your chapter titles:
- Go to your first chapter title and highlight (select) it
- While the chapter title is selected, go to the Styles section of the tool bar and apply a style
We recommend using Headings 1 for the main chapter titles and Heading 2 for sub-chapters that you want included in your TOC. - To keep the same format of your book with the font type, size and color, you can right click in Heading 1 or Heading 2 and Modify so you can adjust the text while keeping the same format
Tip: the chapter title must remain highlighted (selected) for the Style to be applied. - Repeat steps 1 and 2 for all chapter titles in your manuscript.
Tip: for the Table of Contents to work correctly, and to ensure that the NCX view is enabled, all chapter titles must have the same heading style applied.
After you've applied the same style to all of your chapter titles, you'll need to create a blank page where you want the TOC to appear. It should appear before the main content and after front matter (copyright information or the title page).
To insert your TOC:
- At the top of the window, change from the Home tab to the References tab
- From the tool bar, select Table of Contents. We recommend two options for creating an eBook TOC:
- Select Automatic Table 1 from the Table of Contents
- Select Custom Table of Contents from the
- In the pop-up window, remove the checkmark from Show Page Numbers box
- Change Show Levels to 1 (one)
- Click OK
Automatic Table 1
Custom Table of Contents
The TOC will appear with working links to each chapter in your book. However, this TOC needs to be edited for your eBook. With eBooks, readers can change line spacing and font and margin size, so standard page numbers don't apply to eBooks. Because of this, the TOC numbers in your Word file don't apply and need to be removed to avoid confusing your readers.
To remove the page numbers:
- Highlight (select) the page numbers and leading dots ("....123")
- Right-click and select Cut
- Save your Word file
Publish your file as you would any other content.
Mac
To create a table of contents (TOC) in Microsoft Word in Mac, open your manuscript file in Word and check to make you're starting from the Home tab in your Word toolbar. Select the Show or Hide Tool Box so that you can apply a style to your chapter headings.
To format a working TOC successfully, all content in the TOC will need to have a Style applied to it, and the chapter titles in the TOC will need to be manually hyperlinked to the chapters. The same style will need to be applied to the same items. For example, if your book has ten chapters, each chapter will need to be formatted with the same style (for example, Heading 1). If your book has sub-chapters, each sub-chapter title will need to be formatted with a style (for example, Heading 2).
After you've applied the same style to all of your chapter titles, you'll need to add hyperlinks to your TOC to ensure it works in Kindle devices.
To do this, you'll need to hyperlink your chapter titles to an Anchor within your document.
To format a working TOC successfully, all content in the TOC will need to have a Style applied to it, and the chapter titles in the TOC will need to be manually hyperlinked to the chapters. The same style will need to be applied to the same items. For example, if your book has ten chapters, each chapter will need to be formatted with the same style (for example, Heading 1). If your book has sub-chapters, each sub-chapter title will need to be formatted with a style (for example, Heading 2).
To apply a style to your chapter titles:
- Select the Show or Hide Tool box from the tool bar to open the Style menu
- Go to your first chapter title and highlight (select) it
- While the chapter title is selected, go to the Styles section of the tool bar and apply a style
We recommend using Headings 1 for the main chapter titles and Heading 2 for sub-chapters that you want included in your TOC. - To keep the same format of your book with the font type, size and color, you can right click in Heading 1 or Heading 2 and Modify so you can adjust the text while keeping the same format
Tip: the chapter title must remain highlighted (selected) for the Style to be applied. - Repeat these steps for all chapter titles in your manuscript.
Tip: for the Table of Contents to work correctly, and to ensure that the NCX view is enabled, all chapter titles must have the same heading style applied.
After you've applied the same style to all of your chapter titles, you'll need to add hyperlinks to your TOC to ensure it works in Kindle devices.
To do this, you'll need to hyperlink your chapter titles to an Anchor within your document.
To hyperlink your chapter titles:
- Go to your first chapter title and highlight (select) it
- From the top menu bar, click Insert and select Hyperlink
- In the pop-up window, check to make sure Document is selected
- In the Anchor section, click Locate
- In the pop-up window, click Headings and select the chapter title
- Click OK
- Repeat these steps to hyperlink all chapter titles in your manuscript
The TOC will appear with working links to each chapter in your book Be sure to click on all the chapter titles in the TOC to make sure they're linked to the correct chapters. You may need to remove additional spacings or line breaks.
Publish your file as you would any other content.
