Word & Python - Create Table of Contents

Question

I\'m using the pywin32.client extension for python and building a Word document. I have tried a pretty good host of methods to generate a ToC but all have failed.

I

Answer 1

Manually, edit your template in Word, add the ToC (which will be empty initially) any intro stuff, header/footers etc., then at where you want your text content inserted (i.e. after the ToC) put a uniquely named bookmark. Then in your code, create a new document based on the template (or open the template then save it to a different name), search for the bookmark and insert your content there. Save to a different filename.

This approach has all sorts of advantages - you can format your template in Word rather than by writing all the code details, and so you can very easily edit your template to update styles when someone says they want the Normal font to be bigger/smaller/pink you can do it just by editing the template. Make sure to use styles in your code and only apply formatting when it is specifically different from the default style.

Not sure how you make sure the ToC is actually generated, might be automatically updated on every save.