How to Add Table of Contents in C#

What Code Do I Need to Generate the Table of Contents?

:path=/static-assets/pdf/content-code-examples/how-to/table-of-contents.cs

using IronPdf;

// Instantiate Renderer
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Configure render options
renderer.RenderingOptions = new ChromePdfRenderOptions
{
    // Enable table of content feature
    TableOfContents = TableOfContentsTypes.WithPageNumbers,
};

PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlFileAsPdf("tableOfContent.html");

pdf.SaveAs("tableOfContents.pdf");

For more advanced scenarios, you can combine the table of contents with other rendering options to create comprehensive PDF documents:

using IronPdf;

// Create renderer with multiple options
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
renderer.RenderingOptions = new ChromePdfRenderOptions
{
    // Enable table of contents with page numbers
    TableOfContents = TableOfContentsTypes.WithPageNumbers,

    // Add margins for better formatting
    MarginTop = 40,
    MarginBottom = 40,

    // Enable JavaScript for dynamic content
    EnableJavaScript = true,

    // Set paper orientation
    PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Portrait,

    // Add first page number offset
    FirstPageNumber = 1
};

 // Convert HTML with multiple header levels
string htmlContent = @"
<h1>Introduction</h1>
<p>Welcome to our comprehensive guide...</p>

<h2>Chapter 1: Getting Started</h2>
<p>Let's begin with the basics...</p>

<h3>1.1 Prerequisites</h3>
<p>Before we start, ensure you have...</p>

<h2>Chapter 2: Advanced Topics</h2>
<p>Now let's explore more complex features...</p>
";

PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlContent);
pdf.SaveAs("document-with-toc.pdf");

using IronPdf;

// Create renderer with multiple options
ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
renderer.RenderingOptions = new ChromePdfRenderOptions
{
    // Enable table of contents with page numbers
    TableOfContents = TableOfContentsTypes.WithPageNumbers,

    // Add margins for better formatting
    MarginTop = 40,
    MarginBottom = 40,

    // Enable JavaScript for dynamic content
    EnableJavaScript = true,

    // Set paper orientation
    PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Portrait,

    // Add first page number offset
    FirstPageNumber = 1
};

 // Convert HTML with multiple header levels
string htmlContent = @"
<h1>Introduction</h1>
<p>Welcome to our comprehensive guide...</p>

<h2>Chapter 1: Getting Started</h2>
<p>Let's begin with the basics...</p>

<h3>1.1 Prerequisites</h3>
<p>Before we start, ensure you have...</p>

<h2>Chapter 2: Advanced Topics</h2>
<p>Now let's explore more complex features...</p>
";

PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(htmlContent);
pdf.SaveAs("document-with-toc.pdf");

What Does the Generated PDF Look Like?

The table of contents will be created with hyperlinks to each of the 'h1', 'h2', 'h3', 'h4', 'h5', and 'h6'. The hierarchical structure of your headers is preserved, with sub-headers properly indented under their parent sections. You can also add page numbers to your PDF for additional navigation support alongside the table of contents.

When working with merged or split PDFs, generate the table of contents after all document assembly is complete to ensure accurate page references and functional hyperlinks.

How Do I Style Different Header Levels?

Use the '#ironpdf-toc ul li.h1' selector to apply different styling to the H1 header in the table of contents. Replace 'h1' with 'h2' up to 'h6' to change the styling for each respective header.

 #ironpdf-toc ul li.h1 {
    font-style: italic;
    font-weight: bold;
 }

How Do I Change the Font Family?

With both the '#ironpdf-toc li .title' and '#ironpdf-toc li .page' selectors, it is possible to overwrite the font family of the table of contents. To do this, use the cursive font for the title and utilize the @font-face attribute to use the custom 'Lemon' font designed by Eduardo Tunni.

• Download the Lemon font

 #ironpdf-toc li .title {
    order: 1;
    font-family: cursive;
 }

 @font-face {
    font-family: 'lemon';
    src: url('Lemon-Regular.ttf')
 }

 #ironpdf-toc li .page {
    order: 3;
    font-family: 'lemon', sans-serif;
 }

How Do I Control Indentation?

Indentation can be controlled using the :root selector. This value determines the amount of indent for each header level (h1, h2, ...) in the table of contents. It can be increased as needed, or there can be no indentation with a value of 0.

:root {
    --indent-length: 25px;
}

How Do I Remove or Customize the Dot Lines?

To remove the dotted lines between the header title and page number, modify the background-image of the ::after selector. In the original styling, the second parameter is "currentcolor 1px". Change it to "transparent 1px" to remove the dots. It is important to specify other attributes as well because, in this selector, the new styling will completely override the old styling rather than just adding to it.

 #ironpdf-toc li::after {
    background-image: radial-gradient(circle, transparent 1px, transparent 1.5px);
    background-position: bottom;
    background-size: 1ex 4.5px;
    background-repeat: space no-repeat;
    content: "";
    flex-grow: 1;
    height: 1em;
    order: 2;
 }

For more advanced styling options, create custom leader lines using different patterns:

/* Dashed line leader */
#ironpdf-toc li::after {
    background-image: linear-gradient(to right, currentcolor 50%, transparent 50%);
    background-size: 8px 1px;
    background-repeat: repeat-x;
    background-position: bottom;
}

/* Solid line leader */
#ironpdf-toc li::after {
    border-bottom: 1px solid currentcolor;
    background: none;
}

Ready to see what else you can do? Check out our tutorial page here: Convert PDFs