How To > Effective operations manuals
Create a table of contents
How automatic table of contents work in Tallyfy
Section titled “How automatic table of contents work in Tallyfy”Tallyfy builds a table of contents from your headings automatically. Add headings, and the navigation appears - no manual linking or page numbers. Your documents and procedure templates1 become instantly navigable.
What you need
Section titled “What you need”- A document or procedure template open for editing
- Text you want to organize with headings
How Tallyfy’s table of contents differs from Word
Section titled “How Tallyfy’s table of contents differs from Word”Word’s table of contents needs manual refreshing, page numbers break, and formatting fights you. Tallyfy works differently:
- Instant creation - add a heading and it appears in navigation immediately
- Live updates - change a heading and the table of contents updates in real-time
- Screen-optimized2 - built for clicking and navigating, not printing
- Zero maintenance - you’ll never manually update navigation again
Creating a table of contents in documents
Section titled “Creating a table of contents in documents”-
Highlight the text you want as a main section heading.
-
Click the formatting menu in your toolbar (it may show Normal text or heading styles).
-
Choose H1 to make it a main heading.

-
For sub-headings, highlight text in that subsection.
-
Pick H2 (sits under H1) or H3 (sits under H2) from the menu.

Your headings instantly appear in the table of contents panel as clickable links.
Tips for using headings well
Section titled “Tips for using headings well”- H1 is for main sections only - think chapter titles
- H2 goes inside H1 sections - your subchapters
- H3 goes inside H2 sections (if you really need that level)
- Don’t skip levels - no jumping from H1 to H3
- Keep headings short. Really short.
Table of contents in procedure templates
Section titled “Table of contents in procedure templates”Procedure templates work a bit differently. You’ll still get automatic navigation, but you access it through preview mode:
- Open your procedure template.
- Click Preview to see the user view.
- Look for the table of contents icon in the top right (looks like stacked lines).

- Click any heading to jump directly to that section.

Why automatic table of contents matter
Section titled “Why automatic table of contents matter”An automatic table of contents gives readers:
- A clear view of your document’s structure in seconds
- One-click jumps to any section - no scrolling marathons
- A reason to organize content logically (this makes your docs better, too)
- Equal ease of navigation whether a document is 5 or 50 pages
Related articles
Section titled “Related articles”Footnotes
Section titled “Footnotes”Was this helpful?
- 2026 Tallyfy, Inc.
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Use
- Report Issue
- Trademarks