TOC Wanted

Jump to Last Post 1-11 of 11 discussions (26 posts)
  1. DzyMsLizzy profile image84
    DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

    It appears that there are MANY hubbers who would like to see the ability to add a table of contents (TOC) to their longer hubs.
     
    There is currently an active discussion on the matter here: http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/113669

    However, the instructions are rather cumbersome, and for those of us who are not "techies," a bit confusing, which translates to difficult to implement.

    It would be so much better/easier if one of your gifted programmers could create the ability to
    automatically create a TOC .

    As I see it, it would be a capsule option:  Select a capsule type for TOC, then, when it is placed, it should automatically populate with all the headings for the text capsules within that article.
    I'd have no clue how to do this, but I have no doubt you have people on staff for whom this would be a walk in the park.

    Thanks..Lizzy

    1. agvulpes profile image83
      agvulpesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Lizzy sure sounds like a good idea smile

      1. brianlokker profile image70
        brianlokkerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        That type of capsule is available on at least one of the other writing sites that I'm familiar with. It pre-populates with all the text capsules, but it gives you the option to de-select some of them if you don't want them included in the table of contents. If HP were to add a TOC capsule, it should be flexible like that.

  2. Anna Marie Bowman profile image69
    Anna Marie Bowmanposted 11 years ago

    I don't know that this would be useful to a lot of people, though I know some Hubbers out there that would find this useful.  I want to do another series of Hubs (haven't narrowed down a topic), though.  I would put a link to the next hub in the series at the bottom of the one before it, but I don't see how a table of contents would be useful.  I'm not writing novels here...

    1. DzyMsLizzy profile image84
      DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You don't have to write "novels" for a TOC to be helpful.  Many readers today have the attention span of a gnat, and will leave if they just see a long article; yet, with a goal of 1200 to 2000 words for 'best article length' with the latest HP standards, that's too long for many who would be your target audience.
      People just want to skim, and read just parts that catch their interest.  Would it not be better to have those sub-headings right up front, so they can jump to the part they want to read, and at least spend some time reading your article, than just scrolling quickly, and thinking, "Oh, this is too long," and leaving the page? 
      Since many hubbers write educational pieces, I think that a TOC capsule would cut down the bounce rate significantly, and it would be useful to many.  And that would be a good thing for your traffic and income.

      1. ChristinS profile image37
        ChristinSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        I agree and think this would be a fantastic feature for longer hubs. People definitely will click away - or sometimes even leave comments and tell you it should have been more than one hub wink I've had that happen twice!

      2. AliciaC profile image92
        AliciaCposted 11 years agoin reply to this

        I agree too, and want to add my request for a TOC!

    2. Cardisa profile image91
      Cardisaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      A TOC works better for longer hubs....maybe over 2,000 words. I just created a TOC using page source for a 2,000 word hub. I like the idea and have requested it before. A TOC capsule would make it easier to group subheadings within a hub.

    3. Barbara Kay profile image75
      Barbara Kayposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Squidoo has this option and for a lot of hubs it would work really well. It lets the reader know right away what information they will find on the page.

  3. psycheskinner profile image79
    psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

    TOC can help even with short topic like "10 thinks that may go wrong with your filter and how to fix it"

    The reader can then jump right to the problem they are having.

  4. Writer Fox profile image40
    Writer Foxposted 11 years ago

    My Hubs with the most traffic from Google have TOCs.

  5. Victoria Lynn profile image88
    Victoria Lynnposted 11 years ago

    Yeah, a TOC could be helpful with longer hubs. DzyMsLizzy, you're funny: "the attention span of a gnat"! LOL. You are so right. Wizzley has a table of contents for its posts, I think. . It's probably not hard to create for someone who knows about that kind of stuff.

  6. profile image0
    calculus-geometryposted 11 years ago

    Darkside wrote this tutorial on creating a TOC four years ago: 

    http://darkside.hubpages.com/hub/tableofcontents

    The first paragraph is priceless:

    I'll probably write this and then the powers-that-be will create a Capsule to do in a few seconds what may take a while to create.

    I guess he never predicted that four years later his work would still be relevant.

  7. profile image0
    Earl Noah Bernsbyposted 11 years ago

    Yes, a sortable index or contents at the top of hubs- like on Wikipedia- would be great!

  8. Paul Edmondson profile imageSTAFF
    Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years ago

    For the folks that have been around a while, we once had the feature.  It was very little used if I remember correctly, but I do see how they can be useful.  I think we will have to adjust some UI in the Hub if we bring them back.  Have you seen how SBNation does their story stream feature.  I like that UI for linking capsules together in a TC (their feature is more about updates to stories and on multiple pages).

  9. brianlokker profile image70
    brianlokkerposted 11 years ago

    I tend to write fairly long hubs, and a TOC capsule would be useful to me. I did create my own TOC, using Darkside's method, for one of my postage stamps hubs. I think it's a very effective device for organizing the content. Apparently HP doesn't agree with me, because it's giving me a "style tip" that I shouldn't use links grouped together. I always give consideration to HP's style tips and try to follow them, but not in this case, as I think that removing the TOC links would be detrimental to the readability of the hub.

    (There's also a style tip on that hub telling me that I shouldn't use graphic dividers, but again, I'm ignoring that one, at least for now. I agree that using graphics to add borders to sections is a hack, but I think for some articles, if done right, borders or dividers can improve readability rather than detract from it.)

    1. Writer Fox profile image40
      Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      +1

    2. DzyMsLizzy profile image84
      DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Agreed.

  10. Barbara Kay profile image75
    Barbara Kayposted 11 years ago

    On many of my gardening hubs this would be helpful. I cover how to plant, how to care for and how to handle diseases. Sometimes a section about different varieties even.

    The hubs can get long and if you are only looking for diseases, you could just click on the TOC entry and it would take you right there. Some people don't have the patience to look through the entire hub for what they want and just leave and look elsewhere.

  11. Writer Fox profile image40
    Writer Foxposted 11 years ago

    I explained how to create a Table of Contents on this forum thread:
    http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/113669#post2418957

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)