Documents
Document table of contents
You write the section titles, the engine writes the page numbers. Numbering runs last, after every other layout pass, because moving one section changes every number after it.
Titles have to match the headings
A contents row is matched to its section by the title text. If the row says "Leave and time off" and the heading says "Leave and time off policy", the page number cannot be resolved. When a document is generated as one piece they match automatically. When you rename a heading by hand afterwards, rename the contents row with it.
Numbering runs last, on purpose
The layout engine moves content around: it pulls a block up to fill a short page, pushes a stranded heading down, and strips a divider that lands at the top of a page. Any of those changes a page number. So the contents and the figure captions are numbered after all of that has settled, which is why the numbers are right rather than approximately right.
Sub-sections indent
Each contents row carries a level, so a top level section sits flush and its sub-sections indent one or two steps. Use it where the document genuinely has a hierarchy, such as a numbered agreement or a manual, and keep it flat where it does not. A contents list that indents everything is harder to scan than one that does not indent at all.
Only on a document that needs it
A contents page belongs on something long enough to navigate, so it is added to a handbook, a manual, a white paper or an annual report and not to a four page proposal. On a short document it costs a page and earns nothing, because the reader can already see the whole thing by scrolling.
How it works, in three steps
Step 1
Add the contents block near the front
It sits after the cover and before the first section, which is where a reader looks for it.
Step 2
Keep the titles in step with the headings
If you rename a heading, rename its contents row, or the page number cannot resolve.
Step 3
Check it after a big edit
Numbering is recalculated during layout, so open the contents after adding or deleting a whole section.
The full walkthrough with screenshots is in the guide Every document component and when to use it.
Limits worth knowing
- A contents row resolves its page number by matching the section heading text exactly.
- Contents are meant for long documents; a short one does not get offered them.
- There are no clickable links inside the exported PDF contents.
See it on a finished piece
Questions people ask
Do the page numbers update when I edit the document?
Yes. Numbering happens at the end of layout, after everything else has moved, so it reflects the final pagination.
Why is one of my contents rows missing a page number?
Its title no longer matches the heading it points at. Make the two identical and it resolves.
Can I have sub-sections in the contents?
Yes, each row carries an indent level of up to two steps below the top level.
Make your own document
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match yours, generate, then edit anything you like.
Create a document with OneCraftRelated pages
Generate a long document
A handbook is not a long letter. Past about six pages a document needs navigation, a consistent structure and sections that do not repeat each other, and that only happens if the outline exists before the writing does.
Data tables in a document
A table is the right block whenever the reader will compare values rather than read sentences. Rates, line items, schedules and specifications all belong in one, and prose about them does not.
AI document generator
Most tools that write a document hand you a wall of text. This one decides what kind of document it is first, then writes it and lays it out on A4 pages with the tables, headings, clauses and page breaks a document of that kind actually needs.
More finished work of this kind is on the document examples hub.