Formatting Issues

How to Remove Images and Field Codes from a Word Table of Contents

Rana Garcia Oct 7, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to remove images that mistakenly appear in their document's Table of Contents and hide visible TOC hyperlink field codes.

How to Remove Images and Field Codes from a Word Table of Contents

Product: Word Processor
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Generating or updating a Table of Contents in a document containing images with incorrect styles.
Observed behavior: Images are displaying inside the Table of Contents, and TOC hyperlink field codes are visible instead of the actual heading text and page numbers.

Before you start

Locate the original images in the main body of your document that are incorrectly showing up in the Table of Contents, as you will need to adjust their text styles.

Solution 1Recommended

Remove Heading Styles from Inserted Images

Change the formatting style of the images in the main document so they are excluded from the Table of Contents.

Images appear in a Table of Contents because they have accidentally been assigned a Heading style (such as Heading 1 or Heading 2) instead of the Normal text style.

Select the Image

Scroll through your document and click to select the image that is incorrectly appearing in the Table of Contents.

Apply Normal Style

Go to the Home tab on the top ribbon. In the Styles gallery, click on 'Normal' or open the Styles pane and select 'Clear All' to remove the heading format from the image.

Update the Table of Contents

Right-click anywhere inside your Table of Contents, select 'Update Field', choose 'Update entire table', and click OK. The image will now disappear from the TOC.

Remove Heading Styles from Inserted Images

Tip: Always ensure that only text meant to be in your Table of Contents is formatted using Heading styles.

Solution 2

Hide TOC Field Codes

Toggle the field codes view to display the normal Table of Contents text instead of the underlying hyperlink code.

Professional Word Processing

Create Clean Tables of Contents Easily with WPS Writer

WPS Writer provides an intuitive interface for managing heading styles and generating professional, error-free Tables of Contents. It is fully compatible with Microsoft Word documents, making formatting fixes simple and fast.

1. Open your Document in WPS Writer: Launch WPS Office, click on 'Open', and select your existing document with the Table of Contents issues.
2. Clear Image Formatting: Select the misplaced image in your document, go to the Home tab, and select the 'Normal' style from the Styles menu to strip away the heading attributes.
3. Update TOC with One Click: Navigate to the References tab, click on 'Update TOC', and select 'Update Entire Table' to refresh your document instantly.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) formatsIntuitive Styles pane to easily manage headings and exclude images from TOCAutomatic and accurate Table of Contents generationFree, lightweight, and easy to use across multiple operating systems

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do images appear in my Table of Contents?

Images appear in a Table of Contents when they are accidentally assigned a Heading style (like Heading 1 or Heading 2) in the document body. The TOC automatically pulls in anything formatted as a heading. Changing the image's style to 'Normal' will fix this.

What is the shortcut to hide field codes?

To hide or show field codes for a specific selection, select the text and press Shift+F9. To toggle field codes for the entire document all at once, press Alt+F9.

How do I update my entire Table of Contents?

Right-click anywhere inside the Table of Contents and select 'Update Field' from the context menu. Then, choose 'Update entire table' in the prompt and click OK. Alternatively, you can click inside the TOC and press F9.