I’m working with the Google Docs API to modify document content. My document contains a table of contents that doesn’t automatically refresh when I make changes through the API calls.
Currently, the only way I can get the TOC to update is by opening the document manually and clicking the refresh button next to the table of contents. This updates it properly but isn’t practical for automated workflows.
Is there an API method or programmatic approach to trigger this table of contents refresh without manual intervention? I need to keep the TOC synchronized with document changes made through the API.
yeah, i had that problem too! no direct way to refresh the TOC via API. what helped me was just editing a heading a bit - like adding or removing a space. the TOC typically updates when you reopen the doc, so that might do the trick!
No dedicated API for refreshing Google Docs table of contents, unfortunately. Hit this same wall during a project last year. My workaround was forcing a minor structural change - I’d update a heading style programmatically, then revert it right back. This tricks the doc into refreshing internally. Also tried inserting and deleting a temp paragraph break near the TOC. Not pretty, but both methods synced the TOC with API changes without manual work.
There’s no direct refresh method for table of contents in the Google Docs API. I hit this same issue on a big document automation project where we were generating reports with dynamic sections. Here’s what actually worked for us: add a post-processing step that makes a tiny edit to the document structure after you’re done with content changes. We used replaceAllText to replace a unique placeholder with itself - this forces the document to recalculate everything including the TOC. Another trick that worked was temporarily tweaking the TOC element’s styling properties, then changing them back. Yeah, they’re workarounds, but they’ve been solid across different document types and sizes in production.