Library Subject Guides
A document is more than paragraphs - it might have footnotes, endnotes, tables of contents and figures, and so on... On this page we look at sorting out your page structure, from how to move to a new page (without hitting Enter a lot!) to setting up your table of contents and numbering.
Though the content of a document is, of course, vital, the structure of the pages is very important too, especially for longer documents or those that will be edited frequently. As with styles, using good page structure ensures that the computer knows the different elements of your document, especially where the document has different sections or where there are footnotes or endnotes.
Combined with styles, using proper page structure allows you to use the full range of features in a text processor, makes it easier to keep your documents updated and looking how you expect them to, and helps with accessibility and accessing your document on different devices and in different ways.
Some features relating to page structure only exist in Word, and others exist in both Word and Google Docs. It is worth bearing in mind if you need to use a feature that is only in Word (like automatically numbered headings) when deciding which application to use.
One advantage of using heading styles in your document is that you can then automatically create a formatted table of contents without needing to manually type one out. Heading styles need to be applied to all headings and sub-headings first, so the document knows which text should be included in your table of contents.
Before adding a table of contents, check you have first assigned an appropriate heading style to all of the Heading and sub-headings in your document.
It can be helpful if you open the Navigation pane via View > Show > Navigation pane. This will show you a list of all the recognised headings in the document and give you a preview of what will appear in the automatic Table of Contents. If this list is blank, you may first need to apply heading styles to your document.
First, place your cursor in the document where you would like your Table of Contents to go. Then go to References > Table of Contents to insert a automatic table of contents using one of the two automatic options.
If you need to customise what headings appear in your table of contents, select Custom Table of Contents. Here you can change the separator between the headings and the page numbers along with how many 'levels' of headings you want to include (Heading 1 = Level 1 etc). If you have created your own styles that need to be included in the Table of Contents, select the Option... button to edit which styles are included.
If you make changes to your headings or the order of your document after adding an automatic table of contents, it will not automatically update. When finishing a document, make sure to update your table of contents so it correctly reflects the order of the document. Right-click on any of the text in your table of contents and select Update field > Update entire table.
Once you've added heading styles to your document, go to Insert > Table of Contents.
The two thumbnail icons here allow you to choose from either a format with page numbers (which are also hyperlinked), or so they show as blue links without page numbers.
Once you've inserted your table of contents, it will not update automatically if you make any further changes to the document. Click on your table of contents, and select the circular-arrow 'refresh' button to update it.
It is also possible to create an automatic Table of Figures or List of Tables in Microsoft Word. This relies on having first used Captions in your document next to an image or table.
Adding numbering to the headings and sub-headings in your document can help to add structure and define the different sections in your document. Being able to add automatic numbering is another useful outcome of using styles in a Microsoft Word document.
When you use heading styles, they are linked to different 'Levels', which is how the document knows the difference between a top-level heading and then sub-headings within. For example, we may use the 'Heading 1' style for the main chapters or sections of our document. Then for sub-headings, we may apply 'Heading 2' as a level 2 style. Once that multi-level structure is set up in your document, you can then create numbering while helps to show those levels (1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.1.1 etc).
Adding automatic heading numbering is only available in Microsoft Word.
Before setting up multi-level numbering, make sure you have assigned the appropriate styles to headings in your document.
On the Home tab, look for the 'Paragraph' section. In this section, find the 'Multilevel List' icon. Hovering over the icon should show a label, as it can easily be confused with the single-level numbered list icon, which is just to the left of it.
On this box that appears, you can select from a number of different formats. To ensure that automatic numbering is automatically applied whenever you use a heading style, select an option which shows the names of heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2 etc) listed in the preview.
Sometimes you need to start a new page or break your document into different sections, so that those sections can be formatted differently. This can be achieved by placing a 'break' into the document; to tell it where one thing should end and another should begin. There are two types of breaks: Page Breaks and Section Breaks, which behave differently.
Page Breaks are simply used for marking where text should end on one page and any following text should continue on the next page. This is a more reliable method to using the 'enter' key on your keyboard to make space. Page breaks will still stay in the same place even if you were to edit or alter your document later on.
Section Breaks are a little more powerful. They tell the document where one section ends and another one begins. This could be at the end of a chapter, or wherever you may need certain parts of the document to differ in some way. Once the document knows where the different sections are, elements such as the Header or Footer, page orientation or automatic numbering can be altered for just a particular section. One example could be needing the first few pages of a document to have Roman Numerals for the page numbering, but then the main text to start again in a different format (1,2,3 etc). By inserting a section break, you can unlink these sections so they have different formatting or orientation.
Firstly, place your cursor where you would like to add a break. Go to Layout > Breaks to insert either Section Breaks or Page Breaks. If you are using Section Breaks to mark a particular section in the document, you will need to insert one at the before and after the text you would like in a separate section.
If inserting a Section Break, a 'Next page' break will move the next paragraph onto the next page, whereas a 'Continuous' page break will allow you to continue adding more paragraphs to the same page (if there is space!).
In Google Docs, go to Insert > Break. A 'next page' section break will move any later text onto a new page, whereas a 'Continuous' section break allows you to continue text on the same page.
In Microsoft Word, the location of Page Breaks or Section Breaks are hidden, so it is hard to know where breaks have been previously added when trying to manage the formatting of your document.
On the Home tab, you can select the Paragraph Marks icon to show all of the hidden formatting in the document. When turning this on, you will see lots of extra symbols over your text. This is just a view for you, and can easily be turned off again at any time. It also won't affect the document when printing or sending on to someone else.
You will then see any page breaks or section breaks in between paragraphs. You can remove any by placing your cursor at the beginning of the line and selecting the Delete key on your keyboard.
In Microsoft Word, you may need the header or footer in your document to have a different setup (numbering, title etc) for one particular section of your document. If so, you will need to 'unlink' the sections before changing any formatting. This process is slightly odd as you have to work backwards, starting by looking at the section which is after the one you want to change to unlink it:
Footnotes or Endnotes are a way of placing a small 'superscript' number or letter next to a word or sentence. This then links to a comment, citation or other note that is listed either at the bottom of the page (Footnote) or end of the document (Endnote).
You may need to check with your department around if you should use Footnotes or Endnotes, along with what information can be included in these.
Firstly, place your cursor next to the word or sentence that you would like to add a note for. Go to References > Insert Footnote or Insert Endnote.
To edit the formatting of the superscript number or letter, right click on the Footnotes/Endnotes that appear at the bottom of the page (Footnote) or document (Endnote) and select Note Options.... From here you can alter the numbering format and convert the notes from Endnotes to Footnotes if needed. This box also allows you to apply changes to a particular section, if you have used Section Breaks in your document.
Google Docs just allows you to enter Footnotes at the bottom of each page. Place your cursor next to the word or sentence you would like to insert a Footnote. Go to Insert > Footnote where you can then enter your note at the bottom of the page.
Once you've gone over the material on this page, try the following exercises to apply your knowledge: