# In Google Docs is there a way to jump to various sections of the document while editing without having to scroll? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2026, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-google-docs-is-there-a-way-to-jump-to-various-sections-of-the-document-while-editing-without-having-to-scroll/1028034 "2026-02-27T00:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-google-docs-is-there-a-way-to-jump-to-various-sections-of-the-document-while-editing-without-having-to-scroll/1028034/1 "2026-02-27T00:31:42Z")
Basically, I have a long document I edit every day. Scrolling through 30+ pages to work on one thing and then back 25 pages for something else is a pain. I just want something on the side with a list of sections that I define and if I click on an item in that list the document jumps to that point. And I want this to be a part of the document so if other editors work on it they see the same thing (and I can copy the document and those tabs work). I have looked this up and seen some things about tabs and links but I can’t seem to make it work. Seems like it would be an obvious feature to have. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-google-docs-is-there-a-way-to-jump-to-various-sections-of-the-document-while-editing-without-having-to-scroll/1028034/2 "2026-02-27T00:42:44Z")
I have some 2-300 page Google Docs where I ‘insert Bookmark’ at chosen reference points, then edit an index section that is a series of brief phrases, where I ‘insert link’ for each such bookmark. I don’t think Gdocs supports a sidebar, but if your desired number of section jumps is low you could put those links in a header or footer. I use twin monitors, and finally realized I can open the document twice [or more!], looking at and editing two separate areas - but it’s tedious and fussy, and gets balky at the high page counts - not sure if that might be due to me using a vintage Mac, and thus out-of-date browsers that Google Docs claim are not supported. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-google-docs-is-there-a-way-to-jump-to-various-sections-of-the-document-while-editing-without-having-to-scroll/1028034/3 "2026-02-27T00:45:40Z")
I don’t know if this is exactly what you want–but I have a long document I keep of notes for the game I play in. Whenever we start a new section, I use “Heading 1” to title it, like “Session 1” or whatever. Then I used **Insert→Page Elements→Table of Contents** at the beginning, and it created a table of contents based on all the “Heading 1” titles. I can right-click on the ToC to update it, and when I click on any of the items in the ToC, it takes me directly to that part of the document. I can also select **View→Show Tabs and Outlines Bar** , and it shows all these Heading 1 items as tabs on the left, which I can click on to take me there. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-google-docs-is-there-a-way-to-jump-to-various-sections-of-the-document-while-editing-without-having-to-scroll/1028034/4 "2026-02-27T01:06:34Z")
Yeah, it’s just like @Left_Hand_of_Dorkness said. Use the built-in heading levels, open the Outline sidebar, and they’ll all be there for you to click on (even if you don’t manually enter a table of contents at the top). [https://fightingignorance.org/08398797-c82e-4d41-98a1-a1bb8d5b5109-test-google-docs-february-26-05-04-07-pm.mp4](https://fightingignorance.org/08398797-c82e-4d41-98a1-a1bb8d5b5109-test-google-docs-february-26-05-04-07-pm.mp4) If you don’t see the list immediately, you might just have to click once on “Tab 1”: [https://fightingignorance.org/34e53db6-c246-49a7-8816-1afc19c6c1b0-test-google-docs-february-26-05-05-50-pm.mp4](https://fightingignorance.org/34e53db6-c246-49a7-8816-1afc19c6c1b0-test-google-docs-february-26-05-05-50-pm.mp4) If you want to copy a link for someone else to go directly to a section, just right-click it in that sidebar: [![](https://fightingignorance.org/54b2e657-7ef7-44be-9c29-51ef9b45460e-test-google-docs-february-26-05-06-13-pm-2x.jpg) ](https://fightingignorance.org/54b2e657-7ef7-44be-9c29-51ef9b45460e-test-google-docs-february-26-05-06-13-pm-2x.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-google-docs-is-there-a-way-to-jump-to-various-sections-of-the-document-while-editing-without-having-to-scroll/1028034/5 "2026-02-27T01:10:43Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I don’t know if this is exactly what you want …one of these years I’ll RTFM… Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-google-docs-is-there-a-way-to-jump-to-various-sections-of-the-document-while-editing-without-having-to-scroll/1028034/6 "2026-02-27T01:51:06Z")
Or as you said in the OP, you can use document tabs. At the bottom right of a doc is an icon that looks like three bullet points. Click on it to open a panel on the left side that lets you create document tabs that break the doc into sections like chapters. You can name them, re-name them, re-order them, etc. I’ve never printed a document with document tabs, but it appears to put each tab name on a separate page. If that doesn’t suit your purposes, you’d have to deselect (or discard) those pages when you print.