The Unwanted Navigation Pane
Google Docs features a built-in “Document Outline” pane that appears on the left side of your screen. This tool automatically scans your document for text formatted as “Heading 1,” “Heading 2,” etc., and generates a clickable table of contents, allowing you to rapidly jump between different sections of a long report or manuscript.
However, the outline tool relies entirely on Google’s algorithm correctly interpreting your formatting. If you occasionally use large, bold text for stylistic emphasis rather than structural headings, Docs will erroneously add those stylized sentences to the outline. Furthermore, if you are working on a small laptop screen, the outline pane takes up valuable horizontal space. If you find the outline inaccurate or distracting, you can simply hide it.
How to Hide the Document Outline
You can easily toggle the visibility of the outline pane from the View menu.
- Open your document in Google Docs.
- Look at the top menu bar and click on View.
- In the dropdown menu, locate the option labelled Show outline. If the outline is currently visible on the left side of your screen, this option will have a checkmark next to it.
- Click on “Show outline” to remove the checkmark.
The entire left-hand sidebar will instantly collapse, giving you a wider, distraction-free view of your document. Alternatively, you can achieve the exact same result by clicking the small, grey “Close document outline” icon (an arrow pointing left) located at the very top of the outline pane itself.