Table of Contents for different sections

[GrizzlyBjørn]

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for a way to set up multiple table of contents in one document, where one TOC is at the beginning of each chapter, covering only THAT chapter.

I'm aware that i can achieve this, via multiple paragraph style, where for one parent style has multiple child styles - one for each chapter. However i reckon that approach to be a bit difficult to handle.

So, is there any other way to set up a TOC only covering the Section it is in?

Looking forward,

Best regards!

[Barb Binder · Accepted solution]

This would be easiest if you could break your sections/chapters into separate documents, and then put them into a book file. With this setup, you can generate one TOC for the entire book and one for each chapter.

If all of the section/chapters are in one document, it will be much more of a manual process.

[Barb Binder]

If you are new to long document publishing features, check out this title of Lynda.com
Creating Long Documents with InDesign CC

And here is a link to watch it for free (with a 10-day free trial)
Online Video Tutorials at lynda.com • lynda.com 

[GrizzlyBjørn]

Thank you tons! I'm looking into it right now.

[Barb Binder]

Let us know if you need additional clarification.

[Derek Cross]

That approach might be very irritating for the reader. You might consider have the usual complete ToC at the front and then some kind of summary at the beginning of each chapter.

[Barb Binder]

It's very common in technical documents, Derek. We create a TOC for the book, and a mini-TOC for each chapter. I don't see it used much outside that environment, however.

[Derek Cross]

Absolutely, the key is to have a complete ToC at the front.

[GrizzlyBjørn]

Thanks for your Response. This is exactly what I'm trying to achieve . There is one main TOC at the at the front.

But: How to set up the summary content list of each chapter?

[Barb Binder]

• Make room on the first page of each chapter.
• In chapter 1, choose Layout > Table of Contents and set up the look for the mini-TOC. Take your time to figure out the setup, the format, the styles. This could take minutes to hours, depending on your current InDesign knowledge.
• Once it is working the way you want, save it with the Save Style in the top right corner of the dialog box.

Once saved, you can use that TOC in each of the other individual chapters. You can save multiple TOCs for different situations, which makes this process very easy. Assuming this is new, be sure to watch the videos first.

[GrizzlyBjørn]

Hi BarbBinder​,

Again, thank you tons for the quick and perfect reply. I read all into it, applied it and it all works very fine!

However one last riddle remains:

How do i achieve the correct ongoing numbering of the main chapter headline, throughout all chapters, without manually adjusting the first number in every chapter?

Thank you again!

Best regards,

Paul

[Barb Binder]

Hi Paul:

That should be covered in those videos as well, so maybe you already found it. If not, go to the Book panel menu and you can set up the book and document numbering.