Insert a Table of Contents in WPS on macOS helps you generate a navigable table of contents from heading styles; there are 4 core tasks, 4 available without membership, and 0 membership-related items.
At a Glance
| Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Core tasks | 4 | Matches the number of rows in the How-to Index |
| Available without membership | 4 | Matches the number of Free rows in the index |
| Membership-related items | 0 | Matches the number of membership-related rows in the index |
About This Feature
Overview
Insert a Table of Contents is a document-structure feature in WPS Writer for macOS. It helps you generate a table of contents from heading styles and supports later updates, settings changes, and removal.
Core tasks include:
- Insert an automatic table of contents for long documents.
- Update the table of contents after heading text or page positions change.
- Adjust table of contents settings such as page numbers, visible levels, and tab leaders.
- Remove the current table of contents when you need to rebuild it.
This feature is useful for papers, reports, proposals, manuals, and other structured documents that need clear section navigation.
System Requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Operating system | A Mac computer that can run WPS Office normally |
| App version | It is recommended to use the latest version of WPS Office |
| Network | No mandatory internet connection is required for local table-of-contents editing; internet access is needed for download and account-related actions |
| Other | Heading styles should be applied in the document before you generate a table of contents |
Download & Installation
Install WPS Office for macOS before using this feature.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Official download | WPS Office Free Download |
| Installation method | Download the macOS installer and complete setup by following the on-screen instructions |
| Post-install check | Open WPS Writer and confirm that table-of-contents commands are available from related tabs such as Insert, Home, or Page |
Source: WPS Download Center
Compare with Alternatives
| Dimension | WPS | Microsoft | Notion | Adobe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capability Summary | Generates a table of contents from heading styles and supports updating, settings changes, and removal in the same document. | Word builds an automatic table of contents from headings and lets users update it when heading text, order, or level changes. | Google Docs can insert a table of contents, link entries to headings, refresh it after new headings are added, and delete it. | Notion shows page headings through a table of contents block or a page-level table of contents for navigation inside a page. | Adobe Acrobat guidance focuses on converting a PDF to Word or another editable format, adding a clickable table of contents there, and exporting again. |
| WPS Advantages | Advantage: WPS keeps insert, update, settings, and removal actions in one writing workflow on macOS. Distinct: It fits long-form document editing where heading-based structure and page layout matter together. | Compared with WPS: Word also supports automatic table-of-contents generation and updates through the References tab. | Compared with WPS: Google Docs supports insertion and refresh, but some formatting changes are limited in pageless documents. | Compared with WPS: Notion is oriented more toward page navigation than a page-number-based table of contents in a traditional document layout. | Compared with WPS: Adobe focuses more on PDF conversion workflows and does not present automatic table-of-contents creation inside an existing PDF as a built-in path. |
| Official Source | — | Insert a table of contents | Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document | Format your page | Three steps to add a table of contents to a PDF |
Overall Conclusion: If you want to manage a table of contents directly while editing a long document on macOS, WPS provides a focused workflow for insertion and maintenance. Other products are suitable for their own document models, such as browser-based collaboration, page navigation, or PDF conversion.
Source: Insert a table of contents, Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document, Format your page, Three steps to add a table of contents to a PDF
Use Cases
| No. | Scenario | Suitable for | Main challenge | How this feature helps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Academic paper formatting | Students and researchers | Long chapters make manual table-of-contents editing time-consuming | Generate an automatic table of contents from heading styles |
| 2 | Project proposal editing | Office users | Page numbers and section order may change during revision | Update the table of contents to sync headings and page numbers |
| 3 | Manual writing | Editors and trainers | Different documents need different visible levels and display styles | Adjust settings such as levels, page numbers, and tab leaders |
| 4 | Document cleanup | Team members | An old table of contents no longer matches the current structure | Remove the old table of contents and insert a new one |
Membership & Benefits
Free vs WPS Premium
| Capability | Free users | WPS Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Insert a table of contents | Available | Available |
| Update a table of contents | Available | Available |
| Table-of-contents settings | Available | Available |
| Remove a table of contents | Available | Available |
| PDF editing and conversion tools | Basic PDF features are available | More PDF editing and conversion features are included |
| Cloud storage | 1GB | 20GB |
Source: WPS Office pricing page
Recommendations
| Use case | Recommended plan | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday document formatting and heading-based table-of-contents work | Free | The table-of-contents tasks in this guide are available without membership |
| Frequent PDF editing, conversion, and larger cloud storage needs | WPS Premium | Suitable when your work includes more document tools beyond table-of-contents editing |
How to Subscribe
- To review membership options, visit the WPS membership page.
Source: WPS Office pricing page