How to add a table of contents in Google Docs on Mac: step by step

Google Docs runs in your browser, so its menus sit inside the Docs page, below the browser's address bar. They do not sit in the macOS menu bar across the top of your screen. People often look there first, find nothing, and assume the feature is missing.

Google's help pages carry no version number. The only date on them is a © 2026 footer. So these steps describe the current web version as of November 7, 2026. If a menu looks different on your screen, Google has probably moved an item. Look for the same words in the same menu before you give up.

Style your headings before you insert the table

A table of contents does not read your mind. It reads paragraph styles. A line that is only bold and large looks like a heading to you, but Docs treats it as body text. Body text stays out of the list.

Google's help page lists the paragraph styles: Normal text, Title, Subtitle, and Heading 1 through Heading 6. Use Heading 1 for main sections. Use Heading 2 for the parts inside each one. Keep the levels in order, so the table reads like an outline.

To apply a style from the menu, select the line and go to Format > Paragraph styles. Choose the style you want, then click Apply. The Normal text dropdown on the toolbar also sets Heading 1, 2, or 3, according to Google's 2023 Workspace Blog.

On a Mac, the keyboard is quicker. Select a line and press ⌘ + Option + 1 for Heading 1, or ⌘ + Option + 2 for Heading 2. The same pattern runs up to Heading 6. Press ⌘ + Option + 0 to return a line to Normal text.

How to add a table of contents in Google Docs on Mac, step by step

Work through these steps in order. Keep your cursor in the body of the document, not in a header or footer. The table appears wherever the cursor sits when you insert it, so a stray click can put it in the wrong place.

Choose a layout that fits how people will read the file

Google's 2023 Workspace Blog article describes three choices: numbered entries, entries with dotted leaders to page numbers, and blue hyperlinked entries without page numbers. The help page today only says to choose how you want the table to look. The picker you see may use different wording, so match the description to the look.

Pick by reader. A file that gets printed usually needs page numbers, so dotted leaders fit. A file read on a screen can use blue links, which jump to each section. You can change the look later, so the first choice is not final.

Update the table after you change headings

A table of contents does not update on its own every time you type. After you add, rename, or move a heading, refresh the table. Google's help page says to add the heading and then click Refresh. The 2023 blog says to right-click the table and choose Update table of contents, or click the update icon on its left.

Both routes update the list. The update adds new sections, removes deleted ones, and reorders entries to match your headings. If a page number still looks stale after a large edit, refresh once more before you assume something broke.

Edit the look and choose which headings show

Click the table of contents. Then click the More table of contents options icon to its left, and choose More options. A panel opens on the right. From there you can change the format, change the heading indents, and choose which headings display.

This helps with long documents. You might show Heading 1 entries only, so the list stays short for a busy reader. The panel changes the list, not the headings. Your headings keep their styles and their text.

A worked example for a short report

Say you write a short report with main sections called Summary, Method, Results, and Next steps. Give each of those titles Heading 1. Under Results, add subsections for Sales and Costs, and give those Heading 2. Every title now has a style that Docs can read.

Click the empty line below the report's title. Then go to Insert > Page elements > Table of contents and pick a look. The list shows each section in order, with the subsections nested under Results. You can adjust that nesting in the side panel.

Now add a section called Limits between Results and Next steps. Right-click the table and choose Update table of contents. Limits appears in the right place, and nothing else moves, because the update only follows your headings.

The most common slip in this example is bold subsection titles instead of Heading 2. Docs then lists Summary and Method, skips Sales and Costs, and the table looks wrong. Select the missing lines, apply the heading style, and update the table.

Pageless documents limit what you can change

Docs has a Pages setup and a Pageless setup. Pages shows a paper-style layout with page breaks. Pageless shows one continuous scroll with no page breaks. Google's help page says that in pageless format you cannot change the formatting of the table of contents. Collapsible headings work only in pageless mode.

Pageless also removes some page features. Columns, page numbers, and headers and footers are unavailable. Headers, footers, and watermarks are hidden, not deleted, so they return when you switch back to Pages.

To switch, go to File > Page setup, choose Pages or Pageless, and click OK. You can also use Format > Switch to Pageless format or Format > Switch to Pages format. If you need to restyle the table, switch to Pages first.

Delete a table of contents without losing your headings

Right-click the table and choose Delete table of contents, as Google's help page describes. The table goes, and your headings stay where they are with their styles. You can insert a fresh table any time with the same menu path.

On a Mac, right-click means your trackpad's secondary click. Many people set it to a tap with two fingers in System Settings, so check there if nothing happens. If the menu does not open, click the table once first, then try again.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Headings missing from the table. The line has no heading style. Select it and apply Heading 1 or Heading 2.
• Old entries still showing. You changed a heading but did not refresh. Click the table and update it.
• Page numbers look wrong after a big edit. Update the table again, then check that the document is in Pages format.
• The table cannot be formatted. You are in pageless format. Switch to Pages with File > Page setup.
• Bold text used as fake headings. Docs does not treat bold as a heading. Apply a heading style instead.

Check the result before you share the file

Scroll the whole document once. Check that each section you styled appears in the table, in the right order. If you chose blue links, click a few entries and check that each one jumps to its section.

Then read the first and last entries. A table that starts with the wrong section usually has a heading style on the wrong line. A table that ends early usually has a heading at the bottom that lacks its style.

Keyboard shortcuts for headings on Mac

• Normal text: ⌘ + Option + 0
• Heading 1 to Heading 6: ⌘ + Option + 1 through ⌘ + Option + 6
• Table of contents: no shortcut listed by Google, so use the Insert menu
• Title and Subtitle: no shortcut listed by Google, so use Format > Paragraph styles

Google's shortcut page lists the Mac keys for paragraph styles. It does not list a shortcut for the table itself. Set your headings with the keys first, then use the Insert menu for the table.