Time to Write: #3 Table of Contents

A Table of Contents is a necessity for a well-organized genealogy book. When I am in an archives or library and I am trying to decide if a reference book will be helpful to my research I first look at the Table of Contents and the Index. Therefore, when writing my own books, I am sure to include both.

In Microsoft Word there are manual and automatic options for inserting a Table of Contents. I like to use the automatic option. It is easier because my contents may be altered as I write and Microsoft Word will change my Table of Contents as I make those alterations. To make that happen I had to first set up Heading Styles.

Heading Styles

I looked at my outline to decide the sections of my book. Then I decided on the styles I wanted. Because my book is titled ‘Remembrances’ I named my Styles REM1, REM2, REM3, etc. I made notes on my outline to keep track of my ideas.

REM1. All Capitals; size 18 font; double underline

REM2. All Capitals; size 18 font; no underlines

REM3. All Capitals; size 16 font; etc.

Here is a section of that outline with my Style Markings. {I made changes here to make it fit easily in this post.]

REM1         TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                 

REM1          INTRODUCTION          

REM1         ANCESTOR TREE OF A J  GARDNER                       

REM1         THE FAMILIES                                                                       

REM2                   BRADY                                     

REM3                            The Brady Family Tree           

REM3                            The Brady Family Timeline                                   

REM3                            The Thomas & C (Gibney) Brady Family Story    

REM3                            The Children of Thomas Brady       

REM4                                      Patrick Brady                        

REM5                                               The Children of P & E (Reilly) Brady 

REM4                                      William Brady                       

REM5                                               The Children of W & B (O’Reilly) Brady 

REM4                                      Owen Brady                          

REM5                                               The Children of O & M (McGovern) Brady  

REM4                                      Ann Brady Kilday                   

REM5                                               The Children of J & A (Brady) Kilday   

REM4                                      Bartholomew Anthony Brady  

REM5                                               The Children of Bart & M (Reddan) Brady    

REM3                            The Descendants of Thomas Brady    

REM2                   COYLE              

REM3                            The Coyle Family Tree                      

Table of Contents

Next I clicked on the spot I wanted to add the Table of Contents. Then I clicked on the Reference tab & clicked the Table of Contents box. The drop down menu gives Automatic & Manual options.

I wanted more options. For example, I set up 5 Style Headings [REM1 - REM5] and I want 5 levels in my Table of Contents. My outline & my Table of Contents will begin at the margin for level 1 & then move over 4 times for subsections, giving me 5 levels.

There is a video that shows the steps more clearly than I could list here.  

Once it is in place I can work on my book, click on the Table of Contents & then click ‘Update Table’. The table will be updated to show the changes I made.

Have you made a Table of Contents? What did you use to generate it?

Related Posts:

• Time to Write
• Time to Write: Making an Outline
• Time to Write: Format & Page Numbers
• Time to Write: Table of Contents
• Time to Write: An Index
• Time to Write: Section Dividers 
• Time to Write: Maps
• Time to Write: Appendix

Time to Write: #2 Format & Page Numbers

I have turned my pen from research to writing. I am gathering every scrap of information about my mother’s family and writing a book for my family. I used my index cards to layout the book and wrote an outline to fine tune the direction the writing will take.

I know that I will be taking this book to a local publisher, Troy Book Makers, who published my book, ‘The Mark Family Story’. Therefore, I know I want to use Microsoft Word 2010.

As I started to put together the chapters the first thing I wanted to add was page numbers. They are not at all difficult to add to a Word document. Click on Insert/Page Number and an assortment of options drop down. The page numbers can be located on the top or bottom of a page or in the margins. It is also possible to go to Insert/Footer or Insert/Header to select a style for page numbers.

When I wrote ‘The Mark Family Story’ I used the ‘Conservative’ Footer. At the bottom center of each page is a thin line with the title of the book & the page number. This time I went to Insert/Page Numbers and selected Accent Bar 2. I chose this option because I would like to have, on the bottom of each page, both the page number & the title of my book.

adding the page numbers took very little time. However, I do not want page numbers on the early pages: Title Page, Publisher Information Page, Dedication Page and the Table of Contents. I want the Introduction [which follows my Table of Contents] to be Page #1. Last time my daughter helped me to set that up. Now she lives several states away.

I used a couple different things to show me how to do this. First, I went to the “?” [help] in the corner of my document and looked for help with page numbers. I did not find that useful. Then I looked on line for help. However, the best assistance I found was on you tube:  'Insert Sections with Different Page Numbers'.

Basically, I went to the end of the first section and put in a Section Break. Then I made sure the sections were not linked. The page numbers begin with the second section. The video explains it more clearly than I could here. If you want help, I suggest you watch it.

Hurray! The page numbers are where I want them.

Related Posts:

• Time to Write
• Time to Write: Making an Outline
• Time to Write: Format & Page Numbers
• Time to Write: Table of Contents
• Time to Write: An Index
• Time to Write: Section Dividers 
• Time to Write: Maps
• Time to Write: Appendix