Numbered lists are useful in Word for many different types of documents, such as forms, registries, or even an outline. Word can automatically format numbered lists for you, or you can format them manually. Learn the different ways to approach creating and formatting a numbered list with the following articles.

Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Numbered Lists' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

   Aligning Numbered Lists on the Period
When you convert a paragraph to a numbered list, Word adds a number at the start of the paragraph, as you would expect. How you align this number is the focus of this tip.

   Applying Numbers from the Keyboard
Creating a numbered list is often done by using the tools available on the ribbon. With a bit of preparation you can create numbered lists using keyboard shortcuts.

   Automatic Numbers with Leading Zeroes
Word's automatic numbering formats allow you to easily create lists that have one leading zero. If you want more than one leading zero, then your options are more limited, and you may need to look to a technique that doesn't even use the standard automatic numbering.

   Automatic Question Numbering
Want to use Word's numbering capabilities to help you number a series of questions? Here's how to accomplish the task as easily as possible.

   Changing the Types of Numbers in a Numbered List
Ever want to change the types of numbers that Word displays when you create a numbered list? There are several numbering scheme options. This tip tells you how to change the scheme to your preference.

   Combining First and Second Numbered Levels on One Paragraph
Want to customize your paragraph numbering in Word? There are a few tricks that can be used to automatically display the numbering you want, in spite of Word's default system.

   Continuing Your Numbering
If you have a couple of numbered lists separated by regular text paragraphs, you might want the secondary lists to be continuations of the first one. Setting this up is rather easy.

   Converting Automatic Numbering to Manual Numbering
The automatic numbering that Word lets you apply to paragraphs in your document can create some great looking content, but it can play havoc with your file if you import it into another program. Here's how to get rid of the automatic numbering, but still retain the numbers.

   Converting Lists to Text
If you have a numbered list in a document, you might want to convert it to regular, non-dynamic text and not lose the numbers that are in the list. This tip explains a couple of techniques you can use to accomplish the task.

   Creating a Numbered List
Numbered lists provide a 1-2-3 way of organizing your document. You can create numbered lists very easily using the techniques in this tip.

   Ensuring Standardized Numbering
Want to make sure your paragraph numbering looks the same on different computer systems? It's a harder task in Word than it might seem.

   Following a Number with Different Characters
When creating numbered lists, the normal characters that follow the number are a period and a tab. Here's how to force Word to use a different character sequence more to your liking.

   Lining Up Numbered List Numbers
Do you want the numbers in your numbered lists to be aligned differently than they normally are? You can adjust the alignment by following the steps outlined in this tip.

   Numbered Lists without Indentation
Do you want to modify how your numbered lists (or bulleted lists) are created? The key is to use styles to create your lists instead of relying on the tools that Word provides.

   Numbering with Sequence Fields
One of the most powerful and versatile fields you can use in Word is the SEQ field. This tip shows how you can use the field to create your own numbered lists.

   Randomly Resetting Numbering
Have you ever been frustrated by the automatic numbering feature in Word? You are not alone. Fortunately, there are a few options that can work around this problem.

   Restarting a Numbered List Easily
Word provides tools that allow you to add numbered lists to your documents. Sometimes the quirks built into these tools can make them a pain to work with. One such case is when you need to restart numbering. This tip looks at some techniques and ideas you can apply to make the process easier.

   Reverse Numbered Lists
Adding numbered lists to your document is a snap; Word provides tools to add them immediately. What Word doesn't do is provide a way to create a "countdown list" that is in reverse order. Here's how you can do it.

   Skipping Numbering
Got a numbered list, but you want to add other types of non-numbered paragraphs in the middle of the list? It's easy to do if you use the techniques presented in this tip.

   Stubborn Highlighting
When you make extensive edits to a document and those edits include changing the formatting of numbered or bulleted lists, you can end up with some strange (and stubborn) results. Here's a look at the problem and how you can regain control of your list formatting.

   Turning Off Automatic Numbered Lists
Type what Word thinks is a numbered list, and it will helpfully format the text to match what it thinks your numbered list should look like. If you don't want Word to automatically do such formatting, you need the info in this tip.

   Underlining Tabs In Numbered Lists
When Word creates an automatically numbered list, it removes some of your formatting flexibility. One thing you can't seem to format is the space after the number and the period and before the start of your text. There are ways around this dilemma, however.