LiveTOC

Works with all the latest versions of InDesign on Windows and macOS

LiveTOC main features:

• Makes the numbers in your table of contents (TOC) update automatically if pages are added, removed, or edits are made – without losing special formatting.
• Turns each TOC entry into a hyperlink, for EPUB or PDF export. (For those who like to have a TOC inside the EPUB, apart from the links in the EPUB reader’s navigation pane.)
• After running LiveTOC, you can rearrange the TOC entries as you like, change the formatting, add customization to the layout, and the pages numbers will still update automatically.

Important: LiveTOC works completely independently of InDesign’s Table of Contents feature. You can use InDesign’s feature to generate your TOC, or you can type it out by hand – it makes no difference to LiveTOC.

You can download a demo version of this script here. It will create up to 5 links per document.

A single license for this script is available at $49 USD. For multiple licenses, please contact us to arrange a discount.

How to Use

Here’s a screenshot showing the options:

To access the settings screen: Deselect everything (Edit>Deselect All) and double click on the script in the scripts palette.

To run: Select the text in your table of contents, and double click the script in the scripts palette. The page numbers will be turned into InDesign cross-references, so they will update automatically. And the chapter names in the TOC will be turned into hyperlinks for EPUB export (if this option is selected).

Understanding the Options in the Preferences Panel

Paragraph Styles section: choose all the paragraph styles that are used for chapter headings throughout your document. For example, you may have one style for regular chapter headings, and another style for end-matter headings (such as an Index or Appendix).

Scope section: If your entire document consists of a single InDesign file, choose “search this document only”. But if your entire document consists of several InDesign files (which may all be part of an InDesign book), open all documents and choose the “Search all open documents” option.

Live Page Number Location section: Here you tell the script which part of each TOC entry is the page number. Normally, this would be the numbers at the end of each TOC entry (first choice). But sometimes, depending on the design, the numbers might be elsewhere. In that case, the script will look for three zeros (000) that you have placed manually anywhere within each TOC entry, and replace them with the live page number (second option).

Location of Chapter Names section: Here you tell the script what part of the TOC entry consists of the chapter name. Normally it will be from the beginning of the line until the first tab character. Some other options are available in the dropdown.

Note that the name of the chapter as it appears in the TOC must be identical to the name of the chapter as it appears in the document, including spaces and punctuation. Otherwise, the script will not be able to link up the TOC entry with its appropriate chapter heading.

Create Hyperlinks checkbox: Select this if you want the chapter names in the TOC to be turned into hyperlinks

Display Error Messages checkbox: Select this if you want to read any messages as they occur. Typical error messages are: (1) the script is not able to find an exact match between the chapter name as it appears in the TOC and as it appears in the document; (2) the same chapter name appears twice in the document; (3) the script is unable to figure out where to place the live page number.

Demo

You can download a demo version of this script here. It will create up to 5 links per document.

Instant Download

To purchase the full version of Live TOC for only $49, click the “Buy Now” button. Your product and serial numbers will be available for instant download when you complete the purchase.

Money-back Guarantee

If you are not satisfied with LiveTOC for any reason, simply let us know within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.