How to create table of contents entries without a page number in Word

This article describes how to create table of contents (TOC) entries that contain no page number so that the entries don’t affect the numbering of the rest of the entries.

This article assumes that you understand how to create a table of contents in Microsoft Word. For more information about how to create a table of contents, see the following articles:

• Insert a table of contents
• How to create a table of contents and index with field codes in Word

The following example shows table of contents entries that contain no page numbers. You can use the following method to prevent table of contents entries from having the same page number.

Baseball............................................................1
   Origins and Early History
   Development of Baseball Leagues
   Professional Baseball Government
Current Major and Minor Leagues.....................................2
   American League..................................................2
   National League..................................................3

1. In your document, create a table of contents, or use an existing table.

2. Position the cursor at the location within the document where you want to put the TOC.

3. Select the References tab.

   In the Table of Contents group, select Table of Contents, and then select Custom Table of Contents from the list. Notice that the Print Preview display (Figure A) doesn't display Heading 4 (the style that we used for the annotations). This feature defaults to three levels, Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3.

   Figure A

   

4. To add the annotations to the TOC, select Options. In the dialog box that opens, enter 4 in the TOC level control to the right of Heading 4, and then select OK (see Figure B).

   Note

   Although you might consider removing levels 2 and 3 because Heading 2 and Heading 3 are in use, we recommend that you keep them because you might want to add them later, and not remember why the TOC doesn't update to show those levels.

   Figure B

   Add a level for the annotations.

5. Clear the Show page numbers check box (Figure C). Before you do this, notice that the preview now displays Heading 4.

   Figure C

   

   Note

   Disabling page numbering disables it for the entire TOC.

6. Select OK to return to the document.

   Note

   Figure D shows the resulting TOC. All page numbers are gone. However, we want to remove the page number for only the annotation level. The default TOC doesn't include the annotations (Heading 4 text).

   Figure D

   

1. Select File > Options.

   

2. On the Display tab, select the Show all formatting marks check box, and then select OK.

   

   Note

   Next to the text that appears in the table of contents, you now see a TC field without a page number. The TC field resembles the following example:

   

3. Select the TC field. Make sure that you include the opening bracket and the closing bracket.

4. On the Insert tab, select Quick Parts, and then select Field.

   

   Note

   For information about how to use the Field dialog box for a table of contents entry that contains no page number, see steps 5 through 9 of the “How to create a TOC entry without a page number” section.

5. Select File > Word Options.

6. On the Display tab, clear the Show all formatting marks check box, and then select OK.

7. Select the existing table of contents.

8. Press F9 to update the table of contents.

9. If you receive the following message, select Update entire table, and then select OK.

   Word is updating the table of contents. Select one of the following options:

For more information about how to use the Lead-in Emphasis feature to create a table of contents, see How to use style separators with heading style to generate a TOC in Word.

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