To apply the table of contents automatically, the most important taskis to properly dene thea) levels of heading b) page numberingc) page layout d) themes

The most important task to apply the table of contents automatically is to properly define the levels of heading (a).

Here are the steps to do it in Microsoft Word:

1. Click on the "Home" tab in the ribbon.

2. Highlight the text you want to include in the table of contents, then go to the "Styles" group in the ribbon.

3. Here, you can define the level of the heading by choosing "Heading 1" for main headings, "Heading 2" for subheadings, and "Heading 3" for lower-level headings and titles.

4. Repeat this process for all the headings and subheadings you want to include in your table of contents.

5. Once you have defined all your headings, go to the "References" tab in the ribbon, click on "Table of Contents", and then "Insert Table of Contents".

6. In the dialog box that appears, you can customize your table of contents to suit your needs. Once you're happy with your settings, click "OK".

7. Your table of contents will now be inserted into your document, automatically populated with the headings you defined earlier.

Remember, if you add or remove any headings, or change their text, you will need to update your table of contents to reflect these changes. You can do this by clicking on the table of contents and then clicking "Update Table" in the "References" tab.