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Included in:

- user-manual
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=== Side Column Placement

// tag::column[]
When converting to HTML, you can position the TOC to the left or right of the main content column by assigning the value `left` or `right` to the `toc` attribute, respectively.
In this case, the sidebar column containing the TOC is both fixed and scrollable.

.Assigning the left value to `toc`
[source]
----
include::toc-left.adoc[]
----

.Result: Assigning the left value to `toc`
====
image::toc-left.png[Table of contents using left value]
====

This positioning is achieved using CSS, which means it depends on support from the stylesheet.
However, it's only honored if there's sufficient room on the screen for a sidebar column.
If there isn't sufficient room available (i.e., the screen width falls below a certain breakpoint), the TOC will automatically shift back to the center, appearing directly below the document title.

IMPORTANT: The TOC is always placed in the center in an embeddable HTML document, regardless of the value of the `toc` attribute.
// end::column[]

=== In-Document Placement

// tag::place[]
`toc` values of `auto` (the default), `preamble`, and `macro` place the TOC in the main document area.

When the value of `toc` attribute is unspecified or `auto`, the TOC is inserted directly below the document header (document title, author and revision lines).

When `toc` is set to `preamble`, the TOC is placed immediately below the preamble.

CAUTION: When using the preamble placement, the TOC will not appear if your document does not have a <<Preamble,preamble>>.
To fix this problem, just set the `toc` attribute to an empty value (or `auto`).

To place the TOC anywhere else in the document, set the `toc` attribute to `macro`.
Then, put the block toc macro (`toc::[]`) at the location in the document where you want the TOC to appear.
The toc macro should appear at most once in any document.

If `toc` is not set to `macro`, any toc macro in the document will be silently ignored.

.Setting toc value to macro and using the block toc macro
[source]
----
include::toc-macro.adoc[]
----
<1> The toc attribute must be set to `macro` in order to enable the use of the toc macro.
<2> In this example, the toc macro is placed below the first section's title, indicating that this is the location where the TOC will be displayed once the document is rendered.

.Result: Setting toc value to macro and using the block toc macro
====
image::toc-macro.png[Manual placement of the table of contents]
====
// end::place[]
