When preparing a long report, thesis or contract, two problems come up again and again: headings look inconsistent, and typing a table of contents by hand takes a lot of time. On top of that, when a document passes through several people, it becomes hard to see who changed what. In this article, based on Microsoft's official guides, we explain three useful Word tools: styles, the automatic table of contents and Track Changes.
What is a style in Word and why do you need it?
Built-in styles are combinations of formatting characteristics that you apply to text to quickly change its appearance (font, size, colour, spacing and so on). Instead of formatting each heading separately, you pick a style — and the same look is kept throughout the document.
The main advantages of styles:
- formatting stays consistent throughout the document;
- when you change a style, all text in that style updates at once;
- heading styles are the easiest way to create a table of contents.
How do you create an automatic table of contents?
A table of contents in Word is based on the headings in your document. The steps are:
- Select each heading and apply the Heading 1, Heading 2 or Heading 3 style from Home > Styles.
- Place the cursor where the table of contents should go.
- Choose a suitable layout from References > Table of Contents.
After adding new headings or when pages change, right-click the table of contents and choose Update Field — the table of contents will be refreshed.
Track Changes: how do you track edits?
When you send a document to a colleague or teacher, it is important to see their edits. To do this, turn on Review > Tracking > Track Changes. After that:
- deleted text is shown with a strikethrough;
- added text is shown underlined.
By right-clicking each change you can accept or reject it. This way you decide what stays in the final version.
Who needs these tools most?
- Office staff — reports, internal documents, letters;
- students — coursework, theses, essays;
- lawyers and accountants — agreeing contracts and reports with several people.
Styles and a table of contents make a document look professional, while Track Changes saves time in teamwork.
Summary
- A style is a set of formatting that quickly changes the look of text.
- Styles help keep the same formatting throughout a document.
- The table of contents is based on Heading 1, 2, 3 headings: References > Table of Contents.
- To update the table of contents: right-click > Update Field.
- In Track Changes, deletions are struck through and additions are underlined.
If you would like to learn Word, Excel and other office software in practice, message us on WhatsApp: +994 77 754 10 12
📚 Sources
🌐 The original article is in Azerbaijani; the official sources are available in Azerbaijani.
More articles
Language levels A1 to C2: what do they mean? (English and Russian)
What do A1, B2 and C1 mean? CEFR language levels and how the Russian TORFL (TRKI) levels correspond to them, for learners of English and Russian.
6 Excel tools everyone should know
How does XLOOKUP work, and what is the key rule of VLOOKUP? SUMIF, IF, PivotTable and Flash Fill: 6 Excel tools that make everyday work easier.
Accounting basics: assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses
What are assets, liabilities, equity, income and expenses? Simple definitions based on the IFRS Conceptual Framework, examples and a short note on 1C.