If your TOC is not updating in your document, it can be annoying, especially when you are working on a detailed thesis and need to ensure precision. This issue commonly occurs in document editors like Word 2016, but the solutions are often quick to apply. The first thing to check is whether the table of contents was created using the built-in heading styles. If you used visual styling to look like headings without applying the proper heading styles such as Level 1 and ketik Level 2 styles, the table of contents will not recognize those entries. To fix this, select each heading in your document and apply the correct heading style from the Styles gallery.
Once you have confirmed that all headings are properly styled, the next step is to rebuild the contents list. Right-click anywhere inside the table of contents and choose Refresh Field. You will be given two options: Update page numbers only or Update entire table. If you have changed heading text, always select Rebuild all entries to ensure all entries are refreshed. If the right-click option does not work, place your cursor within the table of contents and press Ctrl+Shift+F9 on your keyboard. This keyboard shortcut forces an update and is often the quickest way to resolve the issue.
Another common cause of this problem is document corruption. In such cases, try copying the entire content of your document except the table of contents, creating a fresh file, and pasting the content there. Then, recreate the table of contents from scratch using the Insert menu and selecting Create TOC. This method often clears hidden formatting errors that prevent the table from updating correctly.
If you are using editing marks or notes, make sure all revisions have been accepted. Sometimes, unaccepted edits can interfere with how the table of contents is generated. Go to the Changes panel and click Accept All Revisions to ensure the document’s structure is finalized. Additionally, if your document contains formatting segments or nested elements such as columns, verify that headings are not placed within these elements, as they may not be recognized by the table of contents feature.
Lastly, check your document’s legacy mode. If your file was created in an previous Word release and is still in compatibility mode, some features may not function as expected. Look at the title bar of your document—if it says “Compatibility Mode”, click File, then Document Properties, and choose Switch to Modern Format to convert the document to the current format. After conversion, rebuild the TOC to see if the issue is resolved.
By following these steps systematically—checking style application, manually updating the table, resetting formatting, clearing tracked changes, and updating document version—you can reliably fix most table of contents updating problems. Rebuilding contents after major changes will also help prevent this issue from recurring in the future.
