Create and Update Word TOC in C# and VB.NET
A Table of Contents (TOC) provides clear and brief information about the organization of a Word document. TOC entries are usually titles or descriptions of the document's headings or chapters. They may indicate where each part starts with page numbers, which are often separated from the entry's text by characters called leaders (like dots or periods).
If you need to create and manipulate a Table of Contents in Word programmatically, GemBox.Document allows you to do so with C# and VB.NET code. In this API you can represent a TOC with the TableOfEntries element, which contains Entries.
The following example shows how you can easily create and update a TOC element in a document.
using GemBox.Document;
using System.Linq;
class Program
{
static void Main()
{
// If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY");
int heading1Count = %Headings1%;
int heading2Count = %Headings2%;
var document = new DocumentModel();
var section = new Section(document);
document.Sections.Add(section);
// Create and add "Heading 1" style.
var heading1Style = (ParagraphStyle)Style.CreateStyle(StyleTemplateType.Heading1, document);
document.Styles.Add(heading1Style);
// Create and add "Heading 2" style.
var heading2Style = (ParagraphStyle)Style.CreateStyle(StyleTemplateType.Heading2, document);
document.Styles.Add(heading2Style);
// Create and add new TOC element.
section.Blocks.Add(new TableOfEntries(document, FieldType.TOC));
section.Blocks.Add(
new Paragraph(document,
new SpecialCharacter(document, SpecialCharacterType.PageBreak)));
// Add document content.
for (int i = 0; i < heading1Count; i++)
{
// Add "Heading 1" paragraph with Level1 for OutlineLevel.
section.Blocks.Add(
new Paragraph(document, $"Heading 1 ({i + 1})") { ParagraphFormat = { Style = heading1Style } });
for (int j = 0; j < heading2Count; j++)
{
// Add "Heading 2" paragraph with Level2 for OutlineLevel.
section.Blocks.Add(
new Paragraph(document, $"Heading 2 ({i + 1}-{j + 1})") { ParagraphFormat = { Style = heading2Style } });
section.Blocks.Add(
new Paragraph(document, "This is a paragraph.\nIt has a default BodyText for OutlineLevel.\nIt won't be listed in TOC entries."));
}
}
// Get and update TOC element.
var toc = (TableOfEntries)document.GetChildElements(true, ElementType.TableOfEntries).First();
toc.Update();
// Update TOC entries page numbers.
// This is not needed when saving to PDF, XPS and image format or when printing.
// Page numbers are automatically updated in that case.
document.GetPaginator(new PaginatorOptions() { UpdateFields = true });
document.Save("TOC.%OutputFileType%");
}
}
Imports GemBox.Document
Imports System.Linq
Module Program
Sub Main()
' If using the Professional version, put your serial key below.
ComponentInfo.SetLicense("FREE-LIMITED-KEY")
Dim heading1Count As Integer = %Headings1%
Dim heading2Count As Integer = %Headings2%
Dim document As New DocumentModel()
Dim section As New Section(document)
document.Sections.Add(section)
' Create and add "Heading 1" style.
Dim heading1Style = DirectCast(Style.CreateStyle(StyleTemplateType.Heading1, document), ParagraphStyle)
document.Styles.Add(heading1Style)
' Create and add "Heading 2" style.
Dim heading2Style = DirectCast(Style.CreateStyle(StyleTemplateType.Heading2, document), ParagraphStyle)
document.Styles.Add(heading2Style)
' Create and add new TOC element.
section.Blocks.Add(New TableOfEntries(document, FieldType.TOC))
section.Blocks.Add(
New Paragraph(document,
New SpecialCharacter(document, SpecialCharacterType.PageBreak)))
' Add document content.
For i As Integer = 0 To heading1Count - 1
' Add "Heading 1" paragraph with Level1 for OutlineLevel.
section.Blocks.Add(
New Paragraph(document, $"Heading 1 ({i + 1})") With {.ParagraphFormat = New ParagraphFormat() With {.Style = heading1Style}})
For j As Integer = 0 To heading2Count - 1
' Add "Heading 2" paragraph with Level2 for OutlineLevel.
section.Blocks.Add(
New Paragraph(document, $"Heading 2 ({i + 1}-{j + 1})") With {.ParagraphFormat = New ParagraphFormat() With {.Style = heading2Style}})
section.Blocks.Add(
New Paragraph(document, "This is a paragraph.\nIt has a default BodyText for OutlineLevel.\nIt won't be listed in TOC entries."))
Next
Next
' Get and update TOC element.
Dim toc = DirectCast(document.GetChildElements(True, ElementType.TableOfEntries).First(), TableOfEntries)
toc.Update()
' Update TOC entries page numbers.
' This is not needed when saving to PDF, XPS and image format or when printing.
' Page numbers are automatically updated in that case.
document.GetPaginator(New PaginatorOptions() With {.UpdateFields = True})
document.Save("TOC.%OutputFileType%")
End Sub
End Module
TableOfEntries.Update method is used to update TOC entries. On this method's help page, under the remarks, you can find a list of currently supported Table of Contents and Table of Contents Entry switches that you can use.
Note, the page numbers in TOC entries are updated using the DocumentModel.GetPaginator method. This method uses GemBox.Document's rendering engine, the same engine that's used when saving to PDF, XPS and image format or when printing.
