WPS Directory on macOS: Introduction

WPS Directory is the outline navigation feature in smart documents on macOS; it includes 3 core tasks, with 3 available without membership and 0 membership-related items.

At a Glance

Metric	Value	Notes
Core tasks	3	Matches the number of rows in the How-to Index
Available without membership	3	Matches the number of Free rows in the index
Membership-related items	0	Matches the number of membership-related rows in the index
Membership limit	None	This feature is available without a membership requirement
Version limit	None	No version restriction is described for this feature

About This Feature

Overview

Directory helps you review and navigate the structure of a long smart document on macOS. It builds an outline from heading styles in the document body, lets you show or hide the left-side directory pane, and lets you jump to a section by clicking a heading node.

Main tasks include:

Show the directory pane to review the document structure.
Hide the directory pane to leave more room for reading and editing.
Jump to a section by clicking a heading in the directory.

This feature is useful for proposals, project documents, meeting notes, and knowledge-base content with multiple heading levels.

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
Operating system	A Mac device that can run WPS Office for Mac
App version	It is recommended to use the latest version of WPS Office for Mac
Network	No mandatory network connection is required for local directory viewing; online features such as sign-in and sync require internet access
Other	The document body should use heading levels, and the directory recognizes H1-H6

Download & Installation

Item	Details
Official download	WPS Office Free Download
Installation	Download WPS Office for Mac, complete the installation, and launch the app
Check after installation	Open a smart document and confirm that the directory entry is available on the left side

Source: WPS download page

Compare with Alternatives

Dimension	WPS	Microsoft	Google	Notion	Adobe
Capability Summary	Builds a directory from document headings, supports showing or hiding the pane, and lets you jump by clicking heading nodes.	Word uses heading styles to organize a document, which supports table-of-contents creation and document reorganization.	Google Docs detects headings, shows a document outline on the left, and lets users jump by clicking headings.	Notion supports heading levels and navigation through a table of contents block or a page-level table of contents.	Acrobat mainly uses bookmarks and page thumbnails for PDF navigation after the file has already been created.
WPS Advantages	Advantage: The directory pane is available directly beside the smart document, making structure review and section jumping easy during editing.	Compared with WPS: It relies on heading styles and a more traditional document-structure workflow.	Compared with WPS: It offers outline navigation, but document summaries are no longer available in the left panel.	Compared with WPS: It is more page-oriented, supports H1-H3 headings, and its navigation depends on page blocks and page settings.	Compared with WPS: It is focused on PDF reading and bookmark navigation rather than a live outline pane in document editing.
Official Source	—	Add a heading in Word	View document outlines in Google Docs	Format your page	Page thumbnails and bookmarks in PDFs

Overall Conclusion
WPS Directory fits document editing scenarios where you want to review structure and move between sections without leaving the page. Google Docs and Notion also support heading-based navigation for online documents, while Adobe Acrobat is more suitable when the working file is already a PDF.

Use Cases

No.	Scenario	Suitable for	Main issue	How Directory helps
1	Quick review of long documents	Editors	Too many sections make scrolling inefficient	Open the directory pane to review the heading structure
2	Fast section switching	Reviewers	Frequent back-and-forth movement between sections	Click a heading node to jump to the target section
3	Focused reading	General readers	The directory pane takes up reading space	Hide the directory pane when it is not needed
4	Collaborative document reading	Team members	It is hard to understand the full structure at first glance	Use the directory tree to understand heading levels quickly
5	Heading structure check	Document authors	Inconsistent heading setup is hard to spot	Review the generated directory to check heading levels

Membership & Benefits

Free vs WPS Premium

Feature item	Free users	WPS Premium
Show or hide Directory	✅	✅
Jump to a document position from Directory	✅	✅
Other premium benefits	Depends on the features shown in the product	Includes additional premium benefits and value-added services

Source: WPS Office pricing page

Recommendations

Usage scenario	Recommended plan	Why
Daily reading and basic navigation	Free	Directory is available without a membership requirement
Broader office needs beyond directory navigation	WPS Premium	Suitable if you also need other premium features

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