w:outlineLvl (Outline Level)

Assigns an outline level (0-8) to the paragraph, used in navigation panes and TOC generation.

Parent elements

w:pPr

Description

w:outlineLvl assigns an outline level to the paragraph, enabling it to appear in document navigation panes and to participate in TOC generation. It is defined in ECMA-376 Part 1 §17.3.1.20.

Values 0–8 correspond to outline levels 1–9 (i.e. value 0 = Outline Level 1 = Heading 1). Value 9 (or omitting the element) means the paragraph is body text and does not appear in the outline.

Built-in heading styles (Heading 1 through Heading 9) automatically set this property. For custom heading-like styles, set w:outlineLvl explicitly to make them appear in the Navigation Pane and TOC.

Attributes

Attribute	Type	Possible Values	Description
`w:val`	`xsd:integer`	`0`–`8` (outline levels 1–9) or `9` (body text, not in outline).	Outline level assigned to the paragraph.

Examples

<!-- Level 2 heading (Heading 2 equivalent) -->
<w:pPr>
  <w:outlineLvl w:val="1"/>
</w:pPr>

new ParagraphProperties(
  new OutlineLevel { Val = 1 });

Notes

w:val="0" is outline level 1 (top-level heading).
TOC fields (TOC \o) use this value to determine inclusion; ensure the TOC field instruction range covers the desired levels.