Dot Leader Sporadically Missing from Table of Contents

This is a tabbing/indent issue as Suzanne describes and you need to adjust them to fix the problem.

1. You can add a tab in the TOC after each entry that is missing the leaders (not the best solution because it leaves a gap before the leaders, and you have to do this for each short entry).
2. Reduce hangin indent from left margin:

-Go to View ribbon and check the Ruler box to make indent/tab settings visible

-Click in your TOC on an offending entry to make sure you are viewing/changing the right indent/tabs

-Move Hanging Indent marker (triangle at the bottom of your ruler) to the left until all expected  leaders appear.

Note that if you move the Hanging Indent to the right, all leaders will eventually disappear.

Also, you don't want the First Line indent (triangle marker at top of ruler) to move.  It will move if you accidentally click on the small rectangular marker below the triangular Hanging Indent marker.

Good luck.

Considering just the entries that are missing the period leaders, are those entries much shorter or longer than the other entries? Often this problem is a result of placement of tab stops in the relevant TOC style; in that case, however, the problem also results in page numbers being in the wrong place as well as lacking leaders. The situation arises when there is a tab stop (or hanging indent) fairly far to the right in the TOC style. A very short entry will stop short of this tab stop, and so the tab that should go to the right-aligned tab stop at the right margin (for the page numbers, with leader) instead stops at the first tab stop/hanging indent. 

I am having this problem. I understand from your statement that it has something to do with the tab stops? but I don't understand what I need to do to fix it. could you please clarify?

( I did read through all the comments here but I just don't see instructions for fixing it)

thanks

In my document, some of the level 1 headlines were too short, so that the page number appeared right next to them and the dotted lines were missing.

I got this fixed by sliding the first tab stop of the level 1 headlines to the left, so that every headline exceeds this tab stop. This little change fixed the page number positions and added the dotted lines to all my my headlines, so that my TOC looks fine now.

hope it helps

What version of Word are you using?  Do you have any very short of overly long entries in the Table of Contents?

The basic issue is that there must be sufficient space for the tab space between the end of the Table of Contents entry and the position of the page number, for that space with its leader to appear.  Therefore, moving the tab stop that aligns the page numbers to the right or that which aligns the Table of Contents Entry to the left may over come the problem.  Such changes should be made in the TOC Styles by clicking on the Modify button in the Table of Contents dialog and then in the Style dialog, select each of the TOC# styles that are used in turn and click on the Modify button and then in the Modify Style dialog, click on Format and then Tabs.

Considering just the entries that are missing the period leaders, are those entries much shorter or longer than the other entries? Often this problem is a result of placement of tab stops in the relevant TOC style; in that case, however, the problem also results in page numbers being in the wrong place as well as lacking leaders. The situation arises when there is a tab stop (or hanging indent) fairly far to the right in the TOC style. A very short entry will stop short of this tab stop, and so the tab that should go to the right-aligned tab stop at the right margin (for the page numbers, with leader) instead stops at the first tab stop/hanging indent.

I am having this problem. I understand from your statement that it has something to do with the tab stops? but I don't understand what I need to do to fix it. could you please clarify?

( I did read through all the comments here but I just don't see instructions for fixing it)

thanks