Office 2021: How to revert the "available styles" list in the "table of contents" options to default?




In the screenshot below, I couldn’t figure out how to revert the "available styles" list in the "table of contents" options to default.

Attached Images

	Clip_1284.jpg (199.5 KB, 27 views)
	Clip_1285.jpg (186.5 KB, 27 views)

Other than creating a TOC in a different document in a new session of Word and then copying that field into your existing document, I know of no way. (and I have not tried that; it is a guess)



Learn to edit the TOC field directly.
TOC (Table of Contents) field

TOC Tips and Tricks by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP
Dealing with Fields in Microsoft Word

All I wanted to do was restore the “available styles” to the default settings. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do this using the tips provided.


I’ve attached the file with the issue.

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	Clip_1286.jpg (187.1 KB, 26 views)
	Clip_1287.jpg (225.2 KB, 26 views)

Attached Files

Thesis Template V1.5 USM Library and IPS_02.docx (74.7 KB, 4 views)

When you visit the Table of Contents dialog box, Word includes styles whose Outline Level is set to something other than "Body Text." Typically, this means the built-in headings, at least levels 1–3, but also custom styles with an Outline Level set in the Modify Style dialog box (your document includes some custom headings). This is by design in Word.

The TOC field code controls the actual, current settings for the TOC in your document. If necessary, you can edit the field code to make further customizations, as Charles pointed out.

It is worth noticing that the display of TOC entries in the document is controlled by the TOC series of styles. TOC 1 controls the appearance of level 1 items, TOC 2 controls the appearance of level 2 items etc.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

I couldn’t figure out how to revert to the default built-in TOC options like “Automatic Table 1” or “Automatic Table 2,” as shown in the screenshot below.


How can I replace the ones in my current file with the default options?

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	Clip_1290.jpg (196.7 KB, 27 views)
	Clip_1291.jpg (241.6 KB, 26 views)

You can save your custom TOC to the gallery. Select the TOC in the document and then use References tab > Table of Contents group > Table of Contents > Save Selection to Table of Contents Gallery.

Attached Images

saveToGalleryTOC.png (200.5 KB, 25 views)

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

See also: Add your own Table of Contents to the TOC Gallery.


Also, please look at How to attach a screenshot in this forum..
When you add big images, it can move the text in your post off-screen.

The preview images for the tables of contents reflects the settings of the styles in the document, including the numbering scheme. There is no difference in what the TOC includes, just in how it looks as the TOC takes its formatting from the styles in the document.

What you term the default TOC is based on a document where the numbering scheme has each level indented. If you want the TOC in your document to look like that, you will need to change the numbering scheme for your headings so that each level is indented.

I couldn't manage to restore the built-in referencing style for the TOC. However, the template .docx file with the issue is attached.

Attached Images

	Clip_330.jpg (196.5 KB, 17 views)
	Clip_331.jpg (218.1 KB, 17 views)

Which settings are you trying to store? Note that a custom TOC field can be saved in a Building Block. However, you can't save your customized TOC styles like that. The TOC styles must be saved to the template, as you would with any other style.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

There are the heading styles, which can be modified to have numbering. See How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in Ribbon Versions of Word by Shauna Kelly.

The heading styles will be reflected, by default, in the TOC dialog. Generally only the first three are included by default. When you click OK in that dialog, it creates or modifies a TOC field. Which styles are included are set in the TOC options. Whether those styles have numbering is a function best controlled through the process set forth by Shauna Kelly's article. If you change the numbering in the underlying style, it will change in both the TOC dialog and the actual TOC.

How the individual levels in a TOC appear is controlled by the TOC Styles. There are nine of these, one for each level. Numbering is picked up from the underlying heading styles. The TOC styles, themselves should seldom, if ever, have numbering applied to them. The TOC styles are not normally in the [Quick] Styles Gallery on the Home Tab; the Heading Styles are in that Gallery. You can access the TOC styles directly in the Styles Pane.

• The Styles Pane by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP
• Modifying TOC Styles

The appearance of the individual entries in a TOC can also be changed by direct formatting applied in a heading. See Effect of Direct Formatting by Suzanne Barnhill.

If you select a TOC in a document, you can save it to your TOC Gallery. That saves which styles are used and the other options set in the Custom TOC dialog. It does not save the underlying heading styles nor the TOC styles.

If you copy a TOC field into a document, it will carry the Option settings from when that TOC was created. This is true whether you copy and paste from a document or whether you choose it from the entry you saved in the TOC Gallery. Add your own Table of Contents to the TOC Gallery

A TOC field can also be edited manually by displaying the field codes rather than the result in the document.

• Dealing with Fields in Microsoft Word
• TOC Tips and Tricks by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP
• TOC (Table of Contents) field

By default, since they are in the [Ouick] Styles Gallery, heading styles will be included in a [Quick] Style Set. If they are numbered using the methods in Shauna Kelly's page, my experience is that the numbering scheme will also be in a Quick Style Set even though Numbering List Styles are not something that can be saved. You can tell Word to add the TOC styles to the [Quick] Styles Gallery on the Home Tab. If you do that, they will also be included in a [Quick] Style Set created from your document, which can then be applied in a different document.

In future posts, please consider reducing the size of your images. They tend to overwhelm your text.
How to attach a screenshot in this forum.