How to Add Custom Formatting to a Table of Contents in Word
Type out your table of contents first., Go to the top left corner of the ruler., Within the table of contents, select the text you want to reformat., Click on the ruler towards the right side to place the right tab stop there., Set leader dots...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Type out your table of contents first.
Repeatedly click the tab selector to switch through the options until you see the right tab stop (it looks like a backwards capital letter "L"). , You can click and drag to select the entire paragraph, or just click anywhere within the paragraph. , It doesn't matter exactly where you place the tab stop for now, as you'll be moving it soon. , To do this, open the Tabs window by either double right-clicking on the tab stop in the ruler, or expanding the Paragraph group (from the Home ribbon) and then clicking the "Tabs" button at the bottom.
From the Tabs window, you can select your preferred style of leader dots. , To do so, first click and drag the right indent marker over to the extreme right past the point where you want the TOC page numbers to align.
Even if you move it out into the gray margin area, that's okay for now (this is temporary; you'll be moving the indent marker back again). , Click and drag the tab stop to the exact spot on the ruler where you want the TOC page numbers to align. , Drag it back to the left, past the tab stop.
Set the indent marker on the ruler where you want the text to wrap to the next line.
The key is to order your steps so that you're ultimately moving the indent marker to the left of the tab stop, rather than moving the tab stop to the right of the indent marker. , To apply the same formatting to other TOC entries, place the cursor within the correctly formatted paragraph, and then click the Format Painter button in the far left corner of the Home ribbon. , Then click within the paragraph (or click and drag to select multiple consecutive paragraphs) where you want to apply the same formatting. , The end result is that the text will wrap before the right margin, but the leader dots will extend beyond that point all the way to the right margin.
Yay! -
Step 2: Go to the top left corner of the ruler.
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Step 3: Within the table of contents
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Step 4: select the text you want to reformat.
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Step 5: Click on the ruler towards the right side to place the right tab stop there.
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Step 6: Set leader dots.
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Step 7: Adjust the formatting to allow the leader dots to extend beyond the point where the text wraps to the next line.
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Step 8: Keep the indent marker temporarily positioned over to the right of the tab stop.
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Step 9: Go back to the right indent marker (which should still be situated to the right of the tab stop).
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Step 10: Make sure the TOC entry is now formatted properly.
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Step 11: Keep the Format painter button activated.
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Step 12: You're done!
Detailed Guide
Repeatedly click the tab selector to switch through the options until you see the right tab stop (it looks like a backwards capital letter "L"). , You can click and drag to select the entire paragraph, or just click anywhere within the paragraph. , It doesn't matter exactly where you place the tab stop for now, as you'll be moving it soon. , To do this, open the Tabs window by either double right-clicking on the tab stop in the ruler, or expanding the Paragraph group (from the Home ribbon) and then clicking the "Tabs" button at the bottom.
From the Tabs window, you can select your preferred style of leader dots. , To do so, first click and drag the right indent marker over to the extreme right past the point where you want the TOC page numbers to align.
Even if you move it out into the gray margin area, that's okay for now (this is temporary; you'll be moving the indent marker back again). , Click and drag the tab stop to the exact spot on the ruler where you want the TOC page numbers to align. , Drag it back to the left, past the tab stop.
Set the indent marker on the ruler where you want the text to wrap to the next line.
The key is to order your steps so that you're ultimately moving the indent marker to the left of the tab stop, rather than moving the tab stop to the right of the indent marker. , To apply the same formatting to other TOC entries, place the cursor within the correctly formatted paragraph, and then click the Format Painter button in the far left corner of the Home ribbon. , Then click within the paragraph (or click and drag to select multiple consecutive paragraphs) where you want to apply the same formatting. , The end result is that the text will wrap before the right margin, but the leader dots will extend beyond that point all the way to the right margin.
Yay!
About the Author
Michael Ellis
Brings years of experience writing about organization and related subjects.
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