

We’ll be setting a few properties within this dialog box, starting with setting the title to simply “contents.” In the Styles in Table of Contents section, we’ll choose the paragraph style for our heading and click the add button. Next, select Table of Contents from the Layout menu. To begin to create a TOC, find a location in your document where you’d like the TOC to appear. While this provides very useful textual information in regard to finding content, this same information can also be used to make your document interactive when exporting to PDF. This content is created automatically and can be updated as your document is edited. The Table of Contents feature gathers the contents and page numbers of specific paragraph styles in order to provide a list of the contents included in your publication. Not only will this allow you to make design changes faster, but it will also help us add bookmarks and interactivity within a PDF file.

Throughout your InDesign document, be sure to apply the Paragraph Style to all of the headings. If you hold the Option key (Mac) or the Alt key (Windows) when clicking the create new style icon, the properties dialog box will immediately open from the Paragraph Styles panel, allowing you to edit the new style right away. Once you finish editing your style, assign the style to your headline by selecting the characters of your headline, then selecting the paragraph style from the list of styles in your Paragraph Styles panel. To rename your style, or make style changes, double-click the new paragraph style in the list to open the style options dialog box. This will create a style based on the properties of the text you had selected. With the text still selected, click the “create new style” icon in the bottom-right of the Paragraph Style panel. Next, select the characters of your headline within your layout. To create a Paragraph Style, begin by opening the Paragraph Styles panel from the Window > Styles menu. Typically, styles used for headings work best for a TOC. Paragraph Styles, however, are key for the Table of Contents (TOC) feature.

While speaking at Adobe MAX conferences, I’ve often referred to InDesign as “the most stylin’ app in the Creative Cloud.” Styles in InDesign range from paragraph and character styles for text to objects and graphic frames - and can also include tables and table cells, anchored objects, GREP statements, nested styles, hyperlinks - and the list goes on. Learn to use the Table of Contents feature in InDesign to generate both bookmarks and hyperlinks that will help your readers quickly find information in your PDF files. Improve the reading experience of your PDF files by adding bookmarks and a table of contents. Interactive PDF: Bookmarks and Linked TOCs from InDesignĭesign and Photography by Codify Design Studio.
