Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Removing a List.

Removing a List

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 11, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


1

There may be times when you want to remove the list formatting you previously applied to some of your text. For instance, you may have a numbered list that you want to reformat as regular text. Word provides an easy way for you to remove list formatting:

  1. Select the list items you want to no longer be a part of the list. It doesn't matter if it is a numbered or bulleted list.
  2. Make sure the Home tab of the ribbon is displayed.
  3. If the list is a numbered list, click on the Numbering tool in the Paragraph group.
  4. If the list is a bulleted list, click on the Bullets tool in the Paragraph group.

If you remove the bullets or numbering from only a portion of the list, the remainder of the list maintains the list formatting. If required, Word adjusts the numbering on any remaining part of a numbered list.

Word does provide another way you can remove a list: All you need to do is select the paragraphs you want to affect and then press Ctrl+Q. This shortcut returns the paragraph formatting to whatever is defined by the underlying style applied to the paragraphs.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (743) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Removing a List.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Seeing Full File Names in the Files Menu

Wouldn't it be great if you could look at the files in the MRU list and see the full path and file names? Excel condenses ...

Discover More

Relative VBA Selections

Need to select a cell using a macro? Need that selection to be relative to the cell you currently have selected? Here are ...

Discover More

Generating a Unique ID Number

If you are keeping track of people or things within Excel, you may want to devise unique ID numbers you can use for those ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Counting Lists

Word makes it easy to add both numbered lists and bulleted lists to your document. If you are working with longer ...

Discover More

Creating a List

You can format both numbered and bulleted lists very easily in Word. The tools available on the Home tab of the ribbon ...

Discover More

Applying Formatting in Lists

If you want to change the formatting applied to numbers or bullets in your lists, you'll appreciate the information in ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two more than 7?

2021-09-13 11:14:48

Frank Woets

Dear Allen,

Thanks for this tip, and all the other tips as well! I recently found it is good practise to use a list style for listing (bullets or numbers) items. I assume that if you use this method, setting the Style back to Normal, the items are no longer a list (but a series of paragraphs).


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.