Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Continuing Your Numbering.

Continuing Your Numbering

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 12, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

You can take advantage of a nifty Word feature that allows you to easily pick up numbering where you previously left off. This is great for numbered lists that are interspersed with paragraphs that have a different format. In general, the feature is most easily accessed as follows:

Enter the first portion of your numbered list and format it. For example, if your list has 17 items, and there is a heading after item 4, then you would enter the first four items in the numbered list.
Enter the heading or paragraph that interrupts the list.
Enter the rest of your numbered list and format it. The list should begin with 1 again.
Right-click on the first paragraph after the list interruption. A Context menu appears.
Choose Continue Numbering. Word adjusts the numbering as specified.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5949) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Continuing Your Numbering.

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. Learn more about Allen...

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What is 5 - 4?

2025-07-14 14:23:29

Timothy J. McGowan

@Barry:

If your list numbering doesn't pick up where the old list left off, then right-click any paragraph/line number in the second list and choose "Continue Numbering."

2025-07-12 09:39:55

Barry

My 'default' works the other way, in that after interrupting the numbered list with another style, no matter how many lines/paragraphs are in between if I then format some lines as numbered, the numbering continues from the previous numbers. I would (generally) prefer these to restart at 1. Please, how do I set this option.

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