Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Lining Up Numbered List Numbers.

Lining Up Numbered List Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 1, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

You already know how to create a numbered list using the built-in tools provided by Word. If you create a numbered list that has more than nine items in it, you may notice that your numbers for each item do not line up properly. For instance, the numbers are not lined up on the decimal point as you might expect. This condition is easy enough to fix; follow these steps:

Select all of the items in the numbered list.
On the Home tab of the ribbon, click the drop-down arrow at the right of the Numbering tool in the Paragraph group. Word displays a palette of options.
Click the Define New Number Format option. Word displays the Define New Number Format dialog box, and all the options in the dialog box should match whatever was set in the numbered list you selected in step 1. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Define New Number Format dialog box.

Using the Alignment drop-down list, choose Right.
Click OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6003) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Lining Up Numbered List Numbers.

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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

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 ...

Discover More

Creating a New Document in VBA

When working with documents in a macro, it makes sense that you may need to create a document from time to time. Here's ...

Discover More

Turning Off Overlapping, by Default

Do you like your text boxes to overlap each other or not. (Word allows both approaches.) This tip provides a couple of ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

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 ...

Discover More

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 ...

Discover More

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 ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two minus 0?

2023-10-04 07:34:40

Ivana

Thank you! This solved my problem!

2022-10-04 05:09:16

Leslie Eriksson

I agree and have to use the same comment as Lissa. This was truly something I have needed to know for more years than I care to admit. Brilliant and thank you!!!

2022-10-03 08:28:22

lissa Arsenault

Brilliant! I did not know this and thank you!!

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.