A Table of Contents (TOC) is a classic way to organize content. In Template Designer 2 (TD2), you can build a TOC using a layout. Let's look at the different parts of the TOC layout.

Adding a Table of Contents

On the Design > Build tab, you'll find the TOC layout in the Static Elements category.

Drag and drop this layout onto the canvas (generally at the top of your template).

TOC properties

There are several properties you can control in your TOC, but keep in mind that you won't see any story titles populate the TOC until you create a message using your template. Instead you'll see several sample stories in their place to help you see the formatting to expect when you design your message.

Your TOC's editable properties are accessible on two tabs: Content and Style.

Content tab

The Content tab contains a modified rich text editor where you can add and stylize (format) text. The editor reflects the background and text color that you’ll see in your message.

To enter text, simply type in the editor. To format the text, highlight your desired text and apply styles from the editor toolbar.

NOTE: The TOC toolbar does not contain numbering or bulleting options. See Rich Text Editor for more details about the rich text editor.

NOTE: You won't edit the TOC headings in the editor; these are automatically added in MD2.

Style tab

Use the Style tab to apply high-level styles to the story titles that populate your TOC. By default, each checkbox is checked.

Bullet - Enter a character to use as the list bullet. You may only insert one character. TD2 uses a hyphen as the default character.
Use Default Line Height - Check to use the default line height. Uncheck to open a dropdown list where you can customize the line height.
Use Default Font Size - Check to use the default font size. Uncheck to open a dropdown list where you can customize the font size.
Use Default Font Family - Check to use the default font family. Uncheck to open a dropdown list where you can select a unique font family for this style.
User Default Text Color - Check to use the default text color for the TOC links. Uncheck to open a color picker where you can select a unique color..
Use Default Text Decoration - Check to use the parent text decoration (for hyperlinks). Uncheck to select no text decoration (none) or underline.

Populating the TOC

While you won't notice it in TD2, the TOC automatically populates when you create a message using a template with the TOC layout. Each time you add a story, you'll have the option to add that story to the TOC.

In the Text Properties Content tab, check the Show in Table of Contents box. The panel expands to reveal the Story Title field.
Enter the story title that will display in the TOC when the message is sent.

Story Title notes

When creating story titles, note that:

Story titles are limited to 25 characters; longer titles will be truncated.
Spaces in the story title will be replaced with underscores (_).
An index number is added to the end of story titles.

You do not need to display every story in the TOC; Higher Logic Thrive Marketing Professional (Thrive Marketing Professional) lists only those that you designate.

Putting it together

Once you have your TOC in place and you've designed your message, you're ready to see your TOC in action. When you look at your message preview on the MD2 Review & Send tab, your TOC renders fully populated.