Situation guide
Why Word for Mac Won't Make a Table of Authorities (and What to Do)
On this page5 sections
The short answer
Word for Mac won't reliably make a table of authorities because Microsoft doesn't support the feature there — its support page says "Tables of Authorities aren't supported in Word for Mac or Word for the web." Some legacy Mac builds still show the old dialog and the ⌘⌥⇧I Mark Citation shortcut, but current builds may not, and Word for the web, Pages and Google Docs have no TOA feature at all. Your practical fixes are Word for Windows (in a VM or over remote desktop), a manual table with dot leaders, or a tool that builds the table from your final PDF.
Below: exactly what Microsoft says, how the Windows feature works under the hood, what still exists on the Mac, what breaks even when it works, and what to do with a brief due today.
What Microsoft actually says
"This content applies to Word for Windows desktop. Tables of Authorities aren't supported in Word for Mac or Word for the web."
That note sits at the top of Microsoft's own Create a table of authorities page. Every step on the page — the References tab, the Table of Authorities group, Alt+Shift+I — describes the Windows ribbon. If your Mac copy of Word doesn't show a Table of Authorities command, nothing is broken on your machine: that is the documented state of the product.
How a Word table of authorities works: Mark Citation and TA fields
Word doesn't find citations on its own. You select each full citation and press Alt+Shift+I. In the Mark Citation dialog you edit the long citation as it should appear in the table, choose a category (Cases, Statutes, Other Authorities, Rules and so on), and enter the short citation Word should look for elsewhere in the brief. Mark tags that one instance; Mark All tags every matching long and short citation.
Each mark becomes a hidden field, for example { TA \l "Baldwin v. Alberti, 58 Wn. 2d 243 (1961)" \s "Baldwin v. Alberti" \c 1 \b }. When you choose Insert Table of Authorities, Word collects those fields, groups them by category and lists the page each one sits on. The table is only as good as the marking: an unmarked citation is simply absent.
What still exists on a Mac
| App | TOA feature? | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Word for Windows (desktop) | Yes — documented and supported | Mark Citation + Insert Table of Authorities |
| Word for Mac (some legacy builds) | Legacy dialog and ⌘⌥⇧I may be present; not supported by Microsoft | Use it if present; verify every entry |
| Word for Mac (builds without it) | No | Manual table, Windows Word in a VM, or a from-PDF tool |
| Word for the web | No (per Microsoft) | Manual table; TA fields created elsewhere are not a workable path |
| Apple Pages | No | Manual table with a right tab and dot leader |
| Google Docs | No | Manual table |
Mac users often notice the confusing middle ground: an older Word for Mac installation offers Insert › Index and Tables › Table of Authorities, while a colleague's newer install has no such menu. Treat the legacy dialog as a bonus, not a plan — if a brief depends on it, check the menu exists on the exact machine you'll use before the deadline day.
What breaks, even when the feature works
- Mark All over-marks. It tags every match of the short citation, including text that isn't a citation to that authority — a party name in a heading, or a similarly named case.
- Short forms get missed. A later reference by name alone ("Rehaif") or a different short form won't be tagged unless it matches what you entered, and Id. references aren't linked to their authority automatically.
- Manual fixes vanish. Microsoft warns: "Don't modify the entries in the finished table of authorities; if you do, your changes will be lost when you update the table of authorities." Fixes belong in the TA fields.
- Hidden text shifts pages. Microsoft notes that to paginate correctly "you need to hide field codes and hidden text." Visible TA fields can push citations onto later pages in the table.
- Late edits go stale. After any edit you need to update the table (F9 on Windows); a table generated before final pagination can quietly carry wrong page numbers.
- Round-tripping. A brief marked on Windows and edited on a Mac (or in Word for the web) can keep its fields, but you may not be able to rebuild or update the table there.
Practical fixes when the brief is due
| Your situation | Best fix | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Your Word for Mac still has the legacy TOA dialog | Mark citations with ⌘⌥⇧I, insert the table, proofread | Mark All over-marking; don't hand-edit the table |
| You have access to Windows (VM, spare PC, firm remote desktop) | Do the marking and table in Word for Windows | Hide field codes before updating; final page pass |
| Short brief, few authorities, no special software | Build the table by hand with a right tab and dot leaders | Short-form and Id. pages; printed vs PDF page numbers |
| Drafting in Pages or Google Docs | Manual table, or export to PDF and index from the PDF | No TOA fields to rely on |
| Final PDF only (co-counsel's draft, exported brief) | From-PDF tool or manual build from the PDF | Review every entry before filing |
| Confidentiality policy forbids uploads | Local methods only: Word, manual, or an in-browser tool that doesn't upload | Check each vendor's terms |
For the manual route, set a right-aligned tab at the right margin with a dot leader (Word for Mac: Format › Tabs; Pages: Format sidebar › Text › Tabs), list authorities by category in alphabetical order, and take page numbers from the final PDF. The full step-by-step is in how to make a table of authorities on a Mac.
Frequently asked
Why is there no table of authorities in Word for Mac?
Microsoft doesn't support it. Its support page for creating a table of authorities applies to Word for Windows desktop and states that Tables of Authorities aren't supported in Word for Mac or Word for the web.
Where is Mark Citation in Word for Mac?
In builds that still have it, the legacy Mark Citation dialog opens with ⌘⌥⇧I, and the table is under Insert › Index and Tables › Table of Authorities. If neither appears, your build doesn't include the feature.
Can Word for the web create a table of authorities?
No. Microsoft lists Word for the web as unsupported for Tables of Authorities. Use Word for Windows, a manual table, or a tool that works from the PDF.
Why did my table of authorities edits disappear?
Word regenerates the table from the hidden TA fields every time it updates, so direct edits to the table are overwritten. Microsoft says to change the TA field text instead.
Why are the page numbers in my Word table of authorities wrong?
Usually because the table was updated before final pagination, or while field codes and hidden text were showing, which shifts where text falls. Hide field codes, update the table after your last edit, and spot-check against the final PDF.
Can Pages or Google Docs make a table of authorities?
Neither has a TOA feature. You can build one manually with a right tab and dot leader, or export the brief to PDF and generate the table from that.
Sources
- Microsoft Support — Create a table of authoritiessupport.microsoft.com
- Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 28 (Cornell LII)law.cornell.edu
- Apple Community — Table of Authoritiesdiscussions.apple.com
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