Try the example, then check the result.
Download the fictional material and follow the steps below. The video uses English illustrative diagrams; it does not present a live app recording. Product controls may vary by version.
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The video uses English illustrative diagrams; it does not present a live app recording. English captions. Product menus may differ in your account.
Quick answer. In desktop Word, confirm the headings use Heading styles and the contents list is an automatic table. After renaming a heading, choose References > Update Table > Update entire table. Check that the new heading appears and the old wording is gone.
Use the fictional practice file and independent answer check. Work in a permitted practice copy.
Before you start. Use a disposable copy of the fictional practice DOCX in desktop Word. In a test with this file, Word for the web's Update Table of Contents command stayed disabled even after the TOC was selected. The practice document starts with an automatic TOC and a heading called Workshop Overview.
1. Distinguish an automatic TOC from typed text
Open the practice DOCX in desktop Word and inspect its table of contents. An automatic TOC is generated from paragraphs with Heading styles; a manually typed contents list cannot be refreshed by the Update Table command. The practice document uses an automatic TOC field and styled headings. If the document in front of you is manual text, rebuild the TOC from headings instead.
Checkpoint: The list is an automatic TOC and the heading is styled as Heading 1.
2. Rename the heading
In the body, change the Heading 1 paragraph Workshop Overview to Registration Steps. Keep its Heading 1 style. The table of contents can still show the old heading text until its field is refreshed; that mismatch is the problem this lesson tests. Do not retype the contents entry directly.
Checkpoint: Body heading is Registration Steps; TOC may still show Workshop Overview.
3. Choose the whole-table update
Select the table of contents and use References > Update Table in desktop Word. When Word asks what to update, choose Update entire table rather than Update page numbers only. Updating page numbers alone does not rebuild the heading text. In a test with this practice file, Word for the web's Update Table of Contents command remained disabled.
Checkpoint: Update entire table is the selected option in desktop Word.
4. Verify both strings
After the update, search the table of contents for Registration Steps and confirm Workshop Overview is no longer listed there. The old wording may still appear in this guide or answer sheet; the check concerns the document's TOC. Verify the body Heading 1 also reads Registration Steps. This two-part check catches a contents list edited by hand.
Checkpoint: New heading present in TOC; old heading absent from TOC.
5. Handle an unresponsive TOC
If the TOC still shows the old text, confirm you used Update entire table and that the edited paragraph retained a Heading style. If the list was manually typed, replace it with an automatic table from the styled headings. For this practice file, use desktop Word: the web Update command was disabled in our test.
Checkpoint: The failure branch identifies manual text or a lost Heading style.
Verify the result
The practice document's body Heading 1 reads Registration Steps. In its automatic TOC, Registration Steps should be present and Workshop Overview absent after Update entire table. Update page numbers only is insufficient for a renamed heading. Confirm both strings in your own desktop Word copy before considering the refresh complete.
If it still does not work
If the heading never appears, check that it remains a Heading style and that you are updating the automatic TOC rather than a typed list. If only page numbers change, run Update entire table. For this practice file, use desktop Word; the Word web Update command stayed disabled in our test.
Official sources
- Update a table of contents in Word (checked 1 November 2026).
The branded video panels are illustrative diagrams unless a panel is explicitly marked as an actual app capture. The current controls and result must be checked in your own account; an illustration is not proof of an observed live result.
Practice downloads.
The exercise files contain invented information. Save a local copy before editing.