Generate table of contents when \section* (sections without numbering) has been used

Question

Is it possible just to generate a table of contents based on sections in asterisk mode, i.e., \section*? I basically just want the table of contents without section numbers. Like a list of headings and their associated pages.

The following doesn't generate a ToC:

\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{article}

\begin{document}

\tableofcontents

\subsection*{Section 1}

\subsection*{Section 2}

\end{document}

score 65 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 02 '11 at 09:14

65

You don't have numbered sections, do you? In this case the simplest arrangement is

\setcounter{secnumdepth}{0} % sections are level 1

\begin{document}

\section{First}

\section{Second}

No sectional unit below \section will be numbered, but sections and subsections will go anyway in the table of contents (as this depends on the value of the tocdepth counter, default 2).

answered Oct 02 '11 at 09:14

egreg

1,121,712

1

Suppose I don't want numbering for headings at any level, how would I modify your solution? Keep in mind I do still want a table of contents, just without heading numbering... – ptrcao Oct 02 '11 at 12:40
15

\setcounter{secnumdepth}{-2} will remove the numbering also for parts (and all levels below). – egreg Oct 02 '11 at 12:41
1

This is a good solution - very minimal and unobtrusive, without any compromise. :) – ptrcao Oct 03 '11 at 10:03
You are a hero. Take my internet points. – Henrik Jun 29 '13 at 12:46
1

For some reason this is not working for me. I still get the numbered sections and subsections. Could it be due to the fact that I use a template and a master file including chapter files? Do I have to insert \setcounter{secnumdepth}{0} in a special place? – Frank Ejby Poulsen Jan 22 '14 at 18:26
2

@FrankEjbyPoulsen Try just after \begin{document} – egreg Jan 22 '14 at 20:56
Thank you, it works. However, the headers still display the section names with a number, although it is the chapter number +0. Do you know how to cancel this as well? – Frank Ejby Poulsen Jan 23 '14 at 12:01
@FrankEjbyPoulsen I think it's better to make a fresh question with a MWE. – egreg Jan 23 '14 at 12:05
This solution actually has a problem for me: the pdf indexing now fails to work, i.e., it doesn't jump to the corresponding section when I click on the entries of the TOC. – user69818 Jul 30 '15 at 00:43
alright, it turns out that it is the customization using the package titlesec that breaks hyperref. loading hyperref after my customization solves the problem. – user69818 Jul 30 '15 at 01:08
It still shows numbers for "sections" – Ahmad Nov 06 '19 at 21:33
@Ahmad Not in my tests. What class are you using? – egreg Nov 06 '19 at 21:44

score 56 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 01 '11 at 05:29

The following is a manual way of adding entries to the table of contents by means of \addcontentsline:

\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{article}

\begin{document}

\tableofcontents

\section*{Section 1}
\addcontentsline{toc}{section}{\protect\numberline{}Section 1}%
\section*{Section 2}
\addcontentsline{toc}{section}{\protect\numberline{}Section 2}%

\end{document}

Starred sections in ToC

The reason for using \numberline{} is to allow for the traditional numbered space in the table of contents. If you're not interested in this numeric alignment, then you can drop the \protect\numberline{}.

Thanks! The advantage of this approach is that it allows combining sections and section*s in a straightforward manner — Wouter, Jun 05 '20 at 15:15

score 9 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:34

9

Adapting DevSolar's answer from this question (clearing out the definition of \thesection), and assuming you don't really care if you use \section*, you just want to remove numbers from the headings and ToC entries:

enter image description here

\documentclass[12pt,a4paper]{article}
\renewcommand{\thesection}{}
\begin{document}
\tableofcontents
\section{A Section}
\section{Another Section}
\end{document}

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:34

Community

1

answered Oct 02 '11 at 00:36

Mike Renfro

20,550

Thanks Mike - this seems like a fairly succinct solution - and moreover it works, though would you mind explaining what is happening? I don't understand why/how this works. – ptrcao Oct 02 '11 at 04:37
4

In many cases, \theX is a macro that prints the number of the current document division (where 'X' is chapter, section, subsection, etc.) Clearing it out prevents it from being printed. However, on further examination, this doesn't suppress the space between the number and the division title, and the section headings get indented more than I'd like. So I'd go with egreg's version instead. – Mike Renfro Oct 03 '11 at 03:23
This is a nice option. However, in my case, it leaves a blank space where there was supposed to be the number of the section, subsection etc. How do I get rid of that? – Frank Ejby Poulsen Jan 22 '14 at 17:54
As I'd indicated, I'd go with egreg's solution over mine. – Mike Renfro Jan 23 '14 at 17:52

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 17 '19 at 15:01

1

what about using

\addsec{}

instead of

\section*{}

answered Nov 17 '19 at 15:01

user201540

11

10

Welcome to TeX.SX! Can you extend your answer a bit to explain what is the difference between the two commands? Also, the OP uses the article class, and I think \addsec is only available in the KOMA classes. – Tiuri Nov 17 '19 at 15:23
1

With the added info that \addsec needs a KOMA script class and ideally a short example document demonstrating its use and effects (based on the MWE in the question) this could be a great answer. – moewe Nov 17 '19 at 20:12

Generate table of contents when \section* (sections without numbering) has been used

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