[Tex/LaTex] Numbers and bullets in table of contents

Question

I would like to combine both section numbering and bullets in the table of contents of a document of article class just to avoid so much long section number (for example 1.2.1.1.1).

So, I would like to have something like this:

1. First section
   1.1 First subsection
   1.2 Second subsection
           1.2.1 First subsubsection
             · First paragraph
             · Second paragraph
               - First subparagraph
   1.3 Third subsection
2. Second section

How can I modify the table of contents to put those bullets instead of numbers?

Answer 1

The entries for \paragraph and \subparagraph in the table of contents are set by the macros: \l@paragraph and \l@subparagraph. Usually the class contains their definition. Example for class article:

\newcommand*\l@subsubsection{\@dottedtocline{3}{3.8em}{3.2em}}
\newcommand*\l@paragraph{\@dottedtocline{4}{7.0em}{4.1em}}
\newcommand*\l@subparagraph{\@dottedtocline{5}{10em}{5em}}

The arguments for \@dottedtocline are:

• Section level (e.g., 4 for \paragraph).
• Indent to the left margin.
• Space for the numbering for macro \numberline.
• Section title (inherited from \contentsline). If a number is given, it starts with \numberline{...} right before the section title in the same argument.
• ...

The following example redefines the macros \l@paragraph and \l@subparagraph:

• Length parameters of \@dottedtocline are updated to respect the smaller numbering using symbols only.
• The symbol is added as "number" with \numberline for formatting reasons.
• The original number is gobbled if present.

\documentclass{article}
\setcounter{secnumdepth}{4}
\setcounter{tocdepth}{5}

\makeatletter
\renewcommand*{\l@paragraph}[1]{%
  \@dottedtocline{4}{7.0em}{1em}{%
    \numberline{\textbullet}%
    % \numberline{$\cdot$}%
    \gobble@numberline
    #1%
  }%
}
\renewcommand*{\l@subparagraph}[1]{%
  \@dottedtocline{5}{8em}{1em}{%
    \numberline{\textendash}%
    \gobble@numberline
    #1%
  }%
}
\newcommand*{\gobble@numberline}{%
  \@ifnextchar\numberline{\@gobbletwo}{}%
}
\makeatother

\newcommand*{\lipsum}{%
  Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit.%
}

\begin{document}
  \tableofcontents

  \newpage
  \section{First section}
  \subsection{First subsection}
  \subsection{Second subsection}
  \subsubsection{First subsubsection}
  \paragraph{First paragraph}
  \paragraph{Second paragraph. \lipsum}
  \subparagraph{First subparagraph}
  \subparagraph{Second subparagraph. \lipsum}
  \subsection{Third subsection}
  \section{Second section}
\end{document}