WPS Directory on Windows: Introduction

WPS Directory on Windows is a document navigation feature for generating a table of contents from heading styles; it includes 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	Matches the number of membership-related rows in the index
Version limits	None stated	Available in WPS Writer on Windows
Membership limits	None for this feature	All users can use the directory feature

About This Feature

Overview

Directory in WPS Office for Windows is a document structure feature in WPS Writer that generates a table of contents from heading styles and helps readers move through long documents more efficiently.

Core tasks include:

Insert an automatic directory for structured navigation.
Update the directory after heading text or page numbers change.
Adjust directory levels for selected headings.
Customize directory style, including levels, page numbers, alignment, and hyperlinks.

This feature is useful for papers, reports, proposals, manuals, and other long documents that need clear section structure and quick navigation.

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
Operating system	A Windows device that can run WPS Office normally
App version	It is recommended to use the latest version of WPS Office
Network	No mandatory network connection is required for local directory editing; internet access is needed for download, installation, and account-related services
Other	Open the document in WPS Writer and apply heading styles so the directory can be generated correctly

Download & Installation

Item	Details
Official download	WPS Office Free Download
Installation notes	Download and install WPS Office for Windows, then open WPS Writer to use the directory feature
Post-install check	Open a document and go to the References tab to confirm that directory-related commands are available

Source: WPS download page

Compare with Alternatives

Dimension	WPS	Microsoft	Google	Notion	Adobe
Capability Summary	Generates a directory from heading styles, supports updating the directory, adjusting directory levels, and customizing levels, page numbers, alignment, and hyperlinks.	Word creates a table of contents from document headings and supports updating and customizing the table of contents.	Google Docs lets users insert a table of contents linked to headings, refresh it, and adjust formatting in supported layouts.	Notion provides a table of contents block that builds page navigation from headings inside a page.	Acrobat focuses on PDF navigation. Adobe guidance for a table of contents workflow commonly starts by converting the PDF to Word, adding a linked table of contents there, and saving back to PDF; Acrobat also supports bookmarks for navigation.
WPS Advantages	Advantage: WPS keeps insertion, updating, level control, and style settings in one word-processing workflow for long, paged documents on Windows.	Compared with WPS: Word also supports automatic and customized table of contents workflows with similar heading-based behavior.	Compared with WPS: Google Docs supports linked table of contents and refresh, but formatting options depend on the document layout and web-based editing flow.	Compared with WPS: Notion is centered on page navigation blocks rather than traditional paged document layout with page-number-based directory formatting.	Compared with WPS: Acrobat is stronger for PDF viewing and bookmark navigation, while a traditional heading-based table of contents is usually prepared in a word processor first.
Official Source	—	Insert a table of contents	Add a title, heading, or table of contents in a document	Types of content blocks	Three steps to create a table of contents in a PDF

Overall Conclusion
WPS Directory on Windows fits long documents that rely on heading hierarchy, page numbers, and regular updates during editing. For traditional document writing, WPS and Microsoft Word offer similar heading-based directory workflows, while Google Docs, Notion, and Adobe focus on different navigation models depending on whether the content is web-based, block-based, or PDF-based.

Use Cases

No.	Scenario	Suitable for	Main challenge	How it helps
1	Thesis formatting	Students and researchers	Many sections and changing page numbers	Insert an automatic directory and update it after edits
2	Project reports	Office users	Complex document structure and slow section lookup	Jump to sections through the directory
3	Manual writing	Trainers and documentation writers	Multi-level headings are hard to present consistently	Control the displayed hierarchy with directory levels
4	Final document layout	Administrative and business users	The directory style must match the document layout	Customize levels, page numbers, and hyperlinks

Membership & Benefits

Free vs WPS Premium

Capability	Free users	WPS Premium
Insert and update directory	✅ Available	✅ Available
Adjust heading and directory levels	✅ Available	✅ Available
Basic document editing	✅ Available	✅ Available
Advanced PDF tools, more templates, and extended benefits	Some features are limited	More advanced capabilities and resources are available
Cloud storage	1 GB	20 GB

Source: WPS Office pricing page

Recommendations

Usage scenario	Recommended plan	Why
Occasional papers, homework, or standard reports	Free	The directory feature itself is available without membership
Frequent multi-format document work with broader office needs	WPS Premium	Suitable if you also need more PDF tools, templates, cloud storage, or other advanced office features

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