diff --git a/dmp-frontend/src/app/ui/admin/description-template/editor/description-template-editor.component.ts b/dmp-frontend/src/app/ui/admin/description-template/editor/description-template-editor.component.ts
index d98d26929..f3cb1c249 100644
--- a/dmp-frontend/src/app/ui/admin/description-template/editor/description-template-editor.component.ts
+++ b/dmp-frontend/src/app/ui/admin/description-template/editor/description-template-editor.component.ts
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ export class DescriptionTemplateEditorComponent extends BaseEditor<DescriptionTe
 
 		this._updateOrdinals(tocentries);
 
-		if (tocentries && tocentries.length) {
+		if (tocentries && tocentries.length && !this.selectedTocEntry) {
 			this.selectedTocEntry = tocentries[0];
 		}