WPS Directory on macOS: Introduction

WPS Directory on macOS helps you generate a structured table of contents from heading styles and keep it updated as the document changes; this guide covers 4 core tasks, with 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	All listed tasks are available directly

About This Feature

Overview

Directory is a document structure feature in WPS Writer for Mac. It is used to generate a table of contents from heading styles in a document and to quickly update the table of contents content and page numbers after the document changes.

Core capabilities include:

Insert an automatic table of contents: Generate a table of contents at a selected location.
Update the table of contents: Refresh headings or page numbers after edits.
Adjust table of contents levels: Control which heading levels appear in the table of contents.
Customize table of contents styles: Set display levels, page numbers, and hyperlink options.

It is suitable for long documents such as papers, reports, proposals, and manuals. It helps reduce manual formatting work and makes it easier for readers to locate sections.

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
Operating system	A Mac device that can run WPS Office normally
App version	It is recommended to use the latest version of WPS Office for Mac
Network	Inserting and updating a table of contents can be completed in local documents without a mandatory internet connection
Other	Apply proper heading styles to document sections before generating a table of contents

Download & Installation

Item	Details
Official download	WPS Office Free Download
Installation	Download the Mac installer, complete the setup, and launch WPS Office
Post-install check	Open a Writer document and confirm that options such as Table of Contents, Update Table of Contents, and Table of Contents Level are available under the References tab

Source: WPS download page

Compare with Alternatives

Dimension	WPS	Microsoft	Google	Notion	Adobe
Capability Summary	Generates an automatic table of contents from heading styles, and supports updating, level adjustment, and custom style settings.	Word supports inserting an automatic table of contents from headings, and also supports updating and formatting a table of contents.	Google Docs lets you insert a table of contents linked to headings and refresh it after document changes.	Notion provides a Table of contents block that adds a list of links to all headings on a page.	Acrobat focuses on bookmarks and page thumbnails for navigation, and bookmarks can be generated from table-of-contents entries during PDF creation.
WPS Advantages	Advantage: WPS brings insertion, updating, level adjustment, and style settings together in one document workflow for long-form writing.	Compared with WPS: Word also provides a full table-of-contents workflow, but it is centered on the Microsoft Word editing environment.	Compared with WPS: Google Docs supports insertion and refresh, but formatting options depend on the document mode and the experience is more web collaboration oriented.	Compared with WPS: Notion is more focused on page navigation and heading links than on paged document table-of-contents layout and page number management.	Compared with WPS: Acrobat is oriented toward PDF navigation and bookmark management rather than editable word-processing document table-of-contents layout.
Official Source	—	Insert a table of contents	Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document	Intro to writing & editing	Page thumbnails and bookmarks in PDFs

Overall Conclusion
WPS Directory on macOS fits traditional long-document writing workflows well when you need to generate, update, and maintain a table of contents from heading structure. Other products also provide navigation features, but their focus differs between collaborative web documents, workspace pages, and PDF navigation.

Use Cases

No.	Scenario	Suitable for	Main issue	Solution
1	Paper formatting	Students and researchers	Too many sections make manual table-of-contents editing time-consuming	Use an automatic table of contents based on heading styles
2	Project report organization	Office users and project managers	Page numbers can change after revisions	Use Update Table of Contents to sync headings and page numbers
3	Manual writing	Trainers, operations teams, and technical writers	Different sections need clear hierarchy control	Use Table of Contents Level to adjust heading depth
4	Formal document output	Administrative and business users	The table of contents style needs to match the document layout	Use custom table-of-contents settings for page numbers, hyperlinks, and display levels
5	Long-document navigation	All readers	It is inconvenient to locate sections manually	Use table-of-contents entries to jump to sections

Membership & Benefits

Free vs WPS Premium

Capability	Free	WPS Premium
Insert and update a table of contents	✅ Available	✅ Available
Basic document editing	✅ Available	✅ Available
Cloud storage	1 GB	20 GB
Template downloads	Limited	More template benefits
AI tools	Some features are limited	More AI-related capabilities and higher usage allowances

Source: WPS Office pricing page

Recommendations

Scenario	Recommended plan	Why
Occasional reports, papers, or assignments	Free	Table-of-contents insertion, updating, and basic document editing are enough for common needs
More cloud storage, templates, or broader office capabilities	WPS Premium	Better suited to long-term multi-document, cross-device, or expanded productivity needs

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