Chapter Numbers in Indexes and TOAs

Pam wrote about a problem she was having with getting chapter-number prefixes to appear in her index and table of authorities. She could get the chapter number to appear in the table of contents, but not the other two elements.

Word is capable of using either of two general formats for page numbering: It can use either a number by itself, or it can use a combination of a prefix followed by a number. However, it can use only one page format in a given document. You set the format you want to use for a document by displaying the Insert tab of the ribbon, clicking the Page Number tool in the Header & Footer group, and then choosing Format Page Numbers. Word displays the Page Number Format dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Page Number Format dialog box.

Using the controls in the dialog box you can specify if Word is to include the chapter number with the page numbers it generates.

In order for chapter-number prefixes to work, the prefix must be a numbering format selected for one of the built-in heading styles that come with Word. This means that in order to include this prefix, your chapter heading style must be numbered. This would result in all chapters starting with a number, which is generally not the way chapters start. To prevent this, the number that Word adds to the chapter heading must be formatted as hidden.

The general steps, then, are to first use a Heading style for your chapter name and number. Then, number the chapter headings using hidden text, pick a page format that will use heading numbers, and create your indices, table of contents, table of authorities, etc. The steps are:

1. Format your chapter headings as, say, Heading 1. If you have one chapter per document, then you will need to do this (and all these steps) in each document.
2. Place the insertion point in the heading and display the Home tab of the ribbon.
3. In the Paragraph group, click the Multilevel List tool. Word displays a selection of available lists.
4. Choose Define New Multilevel List. Word displays the Define New Multilevel List dialog box.
5. Click the More button. (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. The Define New Multilevel List dialog box.

6. Change the Start At value to be the same as the chapter number. For instance, if you are working on the document for Chapter 5, then change the Start At value to 5.
7. Click the Font button. Word displays the Font dialog box. Notice that in the Formats area of the dialog box that all the controls are grayed out. (See Figure 3.)



Figure 3. The Font dialog box.

8. Make sure the Hidden check box is selected (it has a bold check mark in it), then click on OK. The Font dialog box closes.
9. In the Customize Outline Numbered List dialog box, make sure that Number Alignment is set to Left and the Aligned At value is set to zero.
10. Click the More button. Word displays an expanded Customize Outline Numbered List dialog box.
11. Make sure the Link Level to the Style drop-down list is set to Heading 1, and change the Follow Number With drop-down list to Nothing.
12. Click OK.
13. Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
14. Clicking the Page Number tool in the Header & Footer group. Word displays a number of options.
15. Choosing Format Page Number. Word displays the Page Number Format dialog box.
16. Make sure the Include Chapter Number check box is selected.
17. Click on OK to dismiss the Page Number Format dialog box.

When you create your index or other special tables, the page numbers will show with the chapter-number prefixes in place. Because each chapter is a separate file, you must do this for each chapter, making sure to pick the appropriate start-at number in step 6.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10622) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Chapter Numbers in Indexes and TOAs.