Hello. I was able to set up a table of contents for my draft, but when I compile it to a Word doc, only the first four chapters have actual page numbers. The others are question marks.
This usually indicates another problem in the compile setup, basically if it cannot find the section you are referring to in your ToC, then it wonât be able to calculate a page number for it, and indicates this error with the question marks. The main reason it wouldnât find a section is because it technically isnât one. If youâve got four sections working as expected, then it should be easier to compare the settings of one that works vs one that does not. You can think of it like making a ToC in a word processor, in a way. If you donât use the right styles to mark your chapter headings, then they wonât show up in the generated ToC.
The first place to look is over on the right side of the compiler, in the Contents list. Are all of your chapter sections listed as using the same Type in that column? For example, you may see the first four chapters have one type in grey italic text, and the rest are using something else in black text (or it may be the other way around). You can fix the entries up right here, even in bulk if you need. You can use Cmd and Shift click to select ranges of items, and right-click to set their section type (usually âStructure-Basedâ is best, if you arenât doing that, there are better ways to solve this problem, but setting them all to a type by hand will at least work for now as an expedient approach).
Once you have all chapters using the right type, the second place to look is in the middle pane, which shows previews of how each type prints. All of the chapters should in most cases be using the same Layout tile, and it needs to have a âPage Breakâ indicator along the top of it, in order to be recognised as a proper section. If there are problems here, use the assignment button along the bottom to make changes.
Thank you. I did have some chapters not designated as chapters, but the main problem I realized was that I had intentionally not compiled the complete document, so the TOC could only give page numbers for what was compiled.
I seem to have everything in order now, but when I compile, the TOC lists my old chapter names, which I changed both in the chapter itself, and in the editor. Any solutions for this?
The ToC is just a file in the binder that you created at some point. You can change the text of it like you would any other section, maybe you havenât edited it in a while, and so it has links using old title names. You will find a convenience command for updating link text in the contextual menu, when right-clicking on links.
It may be a good idea to read through Chapter 22 in the user manual, when you have a moment.
Hi Amber,
why is it that in my case only page 2âs are generated all along the list? It starts with question marks, and when I flip back and forth to âprintâ these turn into 2âs. In the past redoing things a couple of times finally solved it, but not now. How to fix this? There has to be a solution for this, right?
Kind regards
This is the Mac area of the discussion board. You will have better luck searching within the Windows beta board for discussions on this topic, or creating a new post if nothing matches. Iâm assuming youâre using the beta at any rate, if not, the regular Windows technical support area will be the right place.
Iâm doing it again, arenât I? Visiting the wrong part of the forum. Sorry about that. 
https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/i-can-t-seem-to-make-a-functioning-toc-anymore/49794/1
worst software ever, as a writer i have to debug why there is an error with a section?
Hello @jamesjara. I, like you, am a user of Scrivener. In your profile, it appears you use the Windows version-but you have raised a problem in the macOS section of the forum. Not sure what that means? Also, a little more context might be needed as you have added this comment to a feed that has not been used for five years. There are many enthusiastic users here who would be happy to make some suggestions-but a little more information and context may be needed about your âerror with a sectionâ. If it helps, there is an extensive user manual in the âHelpâ section of Scrivener.
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