How To Insert A Summary Into A Google Doc

A well-organized table of contents is essential if you’ve ever spent a long time scrolling through a lengthy Google Doc in search of a particular section or piece of information. This is where having a summary included at the beginning or the end of your document comes in handy. A summary can help you get an overview of your main points and decide if they want to read more. A summary can also help you organize your thoughts and structure your document.

But how do you create a summary in Google Docs? There are different ways to do this, depending on your preferences and needs. Fortunately, Google Docs makes it simple and quick to create a table of contents, which can save you time and frustration.

For Google Docs on Android, this feature is sadly not available. Use the desktop or iOS versions if you want to add a table of contents to your document. Fortunately for you, we have put together a detailed tutorial on how to make a table of contents.

Using headings

One of the easiest ways to create a summary in Google Docs is to use headings. Headings are the titles and subtitles that you use to divide your document into sections and sub-sections. You can apply different levels of headings (from Heading 1 to Heading 6) to indicate the hierarchy of your content.

1. Select the text you want to use as a heading by clicking on it, followed by the Format menu. Select the desired heading level under Paragraph styles. You can also use keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+Alt+1 for Heading 1, Ctrl+Alt+2 for Heading 2, and so on.

2. Once you have applied headings to your document, you can generate a summary automatically by using the Document Outline feature. The Document Outline is a sidebar that shows the structure of your document based on the headings that you have used. You can use it to navigate through your document and jump to different sections.

3. Click on the View menu and choose Show document outline to display the document outline. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+A or Cmd+Alt+A. You will see a list of headings on the left side of your document. You can click on any heading to go to that section.

You can simply copy and paste the list of headings into a new paragraph at the start or end of your document to create a summary from the Document Outline. You can also format the summary as a bulleted or numbered list, or add some introductory or concluding sentences.

Also: How To Use Voice Dictation In Google Docs

How to create a table of contents in desktop Google Docs

1. Open Google Docs in your preferred browser on your desktop computer. 

2. Open a document with numerous headings next. A table of contents cannot be created if the document lacks headings.

3. Put your cursor where you want the table of contents to appear in the document once you’ve opened it. The table of contents will be inserted at where the text cursor is.You can simply copy and paste the list of headings into a new paragraph at the beginning or the end of your document.

4. Next, in the toolbar at the top of the screen, click Insert.
   
5. Hover your cursor over Table of contents at the bottom of the Insert menu. A sub-menu with two table of content styles will appear. 

6. You can choose between numbered and linked. The page number is added next to the respective heading in the numbered table of contents. The linked table of contents incorporates links into each heading for easy access. Choose the table of contents that you want to insert.

7. Your Google Docs document now has a table of contents.

After inserting the table of contents, if you add more headings to the document, you can update the table of contents by clicking the refresh icon to the left of the table of contents to add the new headings.

Adding a table of contents in Google Docs for iOS 

A table of contents can also be added to a Google Docs document using an iPad or iPhone. 

1. Open the document you want to add a table of contents to in the app after launching it on your device.

2. Tap the area of the screen where you want to insert the table of contents once you are in the document to position the cursor there. 

3. Next, select the Insert option by tapping the plus icon.

4. At the very bottom of the screen, the Insert pop-up will appear. Select Table of contents from the menu’s bottom.

5. Choose the kind of table of contents you want to insert, and then click OK. Selecting either With page numbers or With blue links will add page numbers next to each heading or links next to each heading for easy access.

The table of contents has now been added to your Google Docs document.

Here are some tips for writing a good summary:

• Keep it concise. A summary should be no more than a few sentences long.
• Focus on the main points. Your summary should highlight the most important information in your document.
• Use clear and concise language. Avoid jargon and technical terms that your readers may not understand.
• Proofread your summary carefully before you save it. Make sure there are no errors in grammar or spelling.

And that’s how you add a summary to any Google Doc. Pretty easy, right? Now you can make your documents more organized and professional with just a few clicks.