Knowledge Base

Frequently asked questions about the bullets and numbering feature in Word

Article ID: 212376

Article Last Modified on 1/24/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Office Word 2003
Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft Word 2000 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q212376

For a Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition version of this article, see 180503.

For a Microsoft Word 97 version of this article, see 159943.

SUMMARY

This article answers the more frequently asked questions about the bullets and numbering feature in Microsoft Word.

MORE INFORMATION

How do I create numbered headings that are suitable for technical or legal documents?

You can automatically add numbers to the headings in a technical or legal document by using the built-in heading styles. To do this, follow these steps.

NOTE: If you use the built-in heading styles to format the headings in your document, you can automatically number the headings with the numbering format you choose.
1. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering, and then click the Outline Numbered tab.
2. Click to select a number format that contains the text "Heading 1," "Heading 2," and so on, and then click OK.
If you do not want to use built-in heading styles, you can still add numbers to your headings by following these steps to link each heading to a numbered format:
1. Make sure that the headings in the document are formatted with your custom styles.
2. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering, and then click the Outline Numbered tab.
3. Click to select a number format.
4. Click Customize.
5. In the Level or Preview box, click the numbering level you want to change.
  
  For example, if you want to change the top-level heading style that you named "My Style 1" in your document, click 1 in the Level box.
6. Click More.
7. In the Link level to style box, click the style that corresponds to the level you selected in step e.
  
  For example, if you clicked 1 in the Level box, click My Style 1 in the Link level to style box.
8. Repeat steps e through g for each heading style in your document that you want numbered.
NOTE: For more information about adding numbering to your custom style, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type add numbering to lists in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.
How do I interrupt, restart, or continue the automatic numbering sequence in the middle of a list?

To interrupt or remove the numbering from text within a numbered list, do one of the following:
- Place the insertion point where you want the numbering to be removed, and then on the Formatting toolbar, click Numbering.
- Place the insertion point where you want the numbering to be removed, and then press BACKSPACE once.
To restart a numbered list or item in the list, follow these steps:
1. Place the insertion point where you want the numbering to be restarted.
2. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering, and then click the Numbered tab.
3. Click to select a number format.
4. Under List numbering, click to select Restart numbering, and then click OK.
To continue the numbering sequence with unnumbered text, follow these steps:
1. Place the insertion point where you want the numbering to be continued.
2. On the Formatting toolbar, click Numbering.
  
  NOTE: If the correct number for the text is not inserted, click either Increase Indent or Decrease Indent on the Formatting toolbar until the correct number appears.
How do I create a multilevel list that mixes numbers and letters?

Word refers to multilevel lists as outline numbered lists and has seven predefined list formats that are built in.

To apply one of the outline numbered formats, follow these steps:
1. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering.
2. Click the Outline Numbered tab.
3. Click to select the list format that you want to use, and then click OK.
4. Type the text for your numbered list.
  
  NOTE: Press ENTER to continue the numbered list to a new numbered item. Press ENTER twice to end the numbered list. If a numbered item does not have the correct number level, click either Increase Indent or Decrease Indent on the Formatting toolbar.
To customize an outline numbered format, follow these steps:
1. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering, and then click the Outline Numbered tab.
2. Click to select the Outline Numbered style that you want to change, and then click Customize.
3. Click to select the level that you want to modify in the Level or Preview box, and then change the formats for that level.
4. Repeat steps a through c for each level that you want to modify.
5. Click OK to close the Customize Outline Numbered List dialog box.
How do I number items in an outline level list or include more than one numbering level on a single line?

In an outline numbered list, you can use the LISTNUM field to number items or to include more than one numbering level on a single line.

For example, if the list item is "1. a)," you can use the LISTNUM field to automatically insert "a)," "b)," and any subsequent items within the same numbering level. To insert a LISTNUM field, follow these steps:
1. Place the insertion point where you want the numbered item to appear on the line.
2. On the Insert menu, click Field.
3. In the Categories box, click Numbering.
4. In the Field names box, click to select ListNum.NOTE: In Word 2002, to specify the level, select the Level in the list check box, and then type the level number.
  
  To specify the starting value, select the Start-at value check box, and then type the starting value.
  
  In Word 2000, click Options to specify the level and starting number for the LISTNUM field. For more information about the LISTNUM field, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type LISTNUM in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.
5. Click OK to close the Field dialog box and insert the LISTNUM field.
6. Repeat steps a through e for each numbered item you want to appear in the numbered list.
How do I reapply outline numbering to a document after the numbering was removed? After you apply outline numbering to a document and then remove the numbering format from all the paragraphs, when you attempt to reapply the outline numbered format, Word reapplies the outline numbering only to the paragraph that contains the insertion point.

Before you reapply the outline numbered format to your document, you must reset the paragraph formatting of the paragraphs that should be outline-numbered. To do this, select the paragraphs from which the outline numbered format was removed, and then press CTRL+Q.

To reapply the outline numbered format to your document, follow these steps:
1. Select the paragraphs from which you removed the outline numbered format.
2. On the Format menu, click Bullets and Numbering.
3. Click the Outline Numbered tab, select an outline numbered format, and then click OK.
Change the level of items in your list in one of the following ways:
- Select a list item, and then press SHIFT+TAB or press the TAB key.
- Select an item, and then click Decrease Indent or Increase Indent on the Formatting toolbar.
For more information about reapplying outline numbering, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

273971 Multilevel list formatted with outline numbering is numbered incorrectly

291334 Outline numbering is not reapplied

203916 Levels missing from multilevel list formatted with outline numbering

240138 Outline numbering is not reapplied

Additional query words: Bullet Number WD2000 WD2002

Keywords: kbhowto kbfaq kbinfo KB212376

Microsoft KB Archive/212376

Frequently asked questions about the bullets and numbering feature in Word

SUMMARY

MORE INFORMATION