If your table of contents is not updating in your document, it can be frustrating, especially when you are working on a long report and need to ensure professionalism. This issue commonly occurs in text applications like Office Suite, but the solutions are often quick to apply. The first thing to check is whether the table of contents was created using the default heading formats. If you manually formatted text to look like headings without applying the proper heading styles such as Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on, the table of contents will not recognize those entries. To fix this, select each heading in your document and apply the correct heading style from the Style panel.

Once you have confirmed that all headings are properly styled, the next step is to update the table of contents manually. Right-click anywhere inside the table of contents and ketik choose Refresh Field. You will be given two options: Update page numbers only or Rebuild all entries. If you have added, removed, or renamed headings, always select Rebuild all entries to ensure all entries are refreshed. If the right-click option does not work, place your cursor within the table of contents and press Fn+F9 on your keyboard. This keyboard shortcut triggers a refresh and is often the fastest solution to resolve the issue.

Another common cause of this problem is formatting errors. In such cases, try exporting all text of your document except the table of contents, creating a fresh file, and pasting the content there. Then, recreate the table of contents from scratch using the Citations & References section and selecting Create TOC. This method often removes invisible conflicts that prevent the table from updating correctly.

If you are using revision mode or notes, make sure all revisions have been approved. Sometimes, unresolved revisions can interfere with how the table of contents is generated. Go to the Changes panel and click Accept All Revisions to ensure the document’s structure is finalized. Additionally, if your document contains formatting segments or advanced layouts such as columns, verify that headings are not placed within these elements, as they may not be recognized by the table of contents feature.

Lastly, check your document’s compatibility mode. If your file was created in an previous Word release and is still in compatibility mode, some features may not function as expected. Look at the title bar of your document—if it says "Compatible Mode", click File, then Info, and choose Switch to Modern Format to convert the document to the current format. After conversion, reinsert the contents list to see if the issue is resolved.

By following these steps systematically—checking style application, forcing a rebuild, resetting formatting, accepting revisions, and updating document version—you can reliably fix most table of contents updating problems. Rebuilding contents after major changes will also help prevent this issue from recurring in the future.