I am creating a content document with a table of contents. Everytime I add a line to the document, it pushes every page below down.

Is there a way to lock pages in place so that it does not do this?



I have tried googling but no luck.

First, review Word Doesn't Know What a Page Is by Daiya Mitchell, MVP.

Word is a text reflow type program. When you add content before other content, the older content moves down.

If you start your pages with a paragraph (heading) that is formatted to have a "page break before," content added before that will be in the page before until a page is filled up, in which case a new page will be created.

See also: Moving/Reorganizing Pages in Microsoft Word

Thanks. So then if my document is already created and almost done, do I have to go and do this to every page individually..?

Well, that depends. I assume you read the pages I linked. If you used heading styles to start your logical sections, you can modfify the paragraph format of the relevant style[s]. Otherwise, you can use keyboard shortcuts to apply styles. There are already shortcuts for headings 1-3.

• The Importance of Styles in Microsoft Word
• Heading Style Keyboard Shortcuts Add-In for Headings 4-9

Add a manual page break or a section break at the end of the table of contents, before the start of the first chapter. This would produce predictable layout where the first chapter always starts at the top of a page. See also the sources for which Charles has already provided links.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional