Crafting a well-organized table of contents for a product catalog in Word is essential to deliver a clear, intuitive experience that helps users find what they need quickly.

Structure your catalog around clear divisions such as product families, manufacturer lines, or functional scenarios.

Place related products together—such as toasters, dishwashers, and mixers under "Kitchen Appliances," or brooms, scrubbers, and sprayers under "Cleaning Tools."

Every chapter title must be descriptive, precise, and uniformly styled across the entire document.

Once the structure is defined, apply Word’s built-in heading styles to each section title.

Apply Heading 1 to broad categories, Heading 2 to nested groupings, and Heading 3 only when deeper subdivisions are necessary for clarity.

The integrity of your table of contents hinges on the correct use of Heading styles—this is non-negotiable for ketik automation.

Manually formatted text won’t be indexed by Word’s TOC generator—always use the designated heading styles.

After applying styles consistently, place your cursor where you want the table of contents to appear—typically at the beginning of the document—and go to the References tab.

Pick a predefined TOC design that aligns with your brand’s visual identity and document tone.

The system populates the TOC with correctly indented entries and live page numbers tied to your heading structure.

Keep your TOC synchronized by updating it each time you modify content, rearrange sections, or adjust pagination.

Simply right click on the table and choose Update Field, then select Update Entire Table.

Without this update, outdated page numbers and missing sections may mislead your readers.

Additionally, consider including brief descriptive text for each main category to provide context, such as "Kitchen Appliances – Efficient and durable tools for everyday cooking."

Although Word doesn’t auto-include these notes, you can type them directly under headings using normal paragraph formatting.

To fine-tune the look, access the "Modify" option within the Table of Contents settings to change fonts, margins, and spacing.

Test that each TOC link navigates accurately to its target location—this is critical for digital usability.

Clicking any TOC item must instantly jump to its matched heading in the document.

Verify each hyperlink by pressing Ctrl and left-clicking every entry in the TOC.

Fix broken links by confirming the heading level is correctly set, then regenerate the table of contents.

Finally, consider your audience.

If the catalog will be printed, ensure the table of contents is clean and easy to read with appropriate font size and line spacing.

When converting to PDF, test the hyperlinks to confirm they remain active and accurate.

When you merge logical structure, correct use of Word’s heading and TOC features, and diligent maintenance, you produce a catalog that’s intuitive, polished, and reliable.