How to Create and Modify Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word

Learn how to create numbered lists in Microsoft Word. We will also look at how to change list levels, start with a different list number, and change the font, size, and color of list numbers.
These steps apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:30 How to Create Numbered Lists
3:12 How to Change Numbered List Levels
4:35 How to Start Lists with a Different Number
5:46 How to Change the Font, Size, and Color of List Numbers
📝 Companion Blog Post/Transcript for this Video
=========================================
How to Create and Modify Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word
erinwrightwriting.com/numbere...
💻 Related Resources
==================
How to Create Custom List Numbers in Microsoft Word
• How to Create Custom L...
How to Create Two-Column and Three-Column Lists in Microsoft Word
• How to Create Two-Colu...
How to Align the Periods in Numbered Lists in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac) [Short]
• How to Align the Perio...
How to Create Bulleted Lists in Microsoft Word
• How to Create Bulleted...
How to Insert a Linked PowerPoint Slide in Microsoft Word
• How to Insert a Linked...
How to Save Tables and Figures as Images in Microsoft Word
• How to Save Tables and...
How to Turn On & Turn Off Automatic List Numbering in Microsoft Word
• How to Turn On and Tur...
How to Create Numbered Lists in PowerPoint (PC & Mac)
• How to Create Numbered...
How to Use Microsoft Word (Playlist)
• How to Use Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word Basics (Playlist)
• Microsoft Word Basics
How to Use Lists in Microsoft Word (Playlist)
• How to Use Lists in Mi...
💻 Please visit my website at erinwrightwriting.com for more writing-related software tutorials.
Thank you for watching!
#microsoftword #microsoft365
All Rights Reserved © 2024 Erin Wright

[@erinwrightwriting]

All the steps shown here are listed with images on my website at erinwrightwriting.com/numbered-lists-in-microsoft-word/. Thank you for watching!

[@biltektek2643]

Frankly, this is a unique tutorial among hundreds I have seen. Speed and clarity of the speaking method are really ideal.

[@erinwrightwriting]

I really appreciate your positive feedback! Thank you for watching!

[@kiizahillary8472]

Your a great tutor really. You explain things in a simple way that is easy to follow.

[@emersonmeyer5507]

Thank you! Right to the point!

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching!

[@MeirJavedanfar]

Thnak you Erin. Very useful.

[@erinwrightwriting]

I am glad it was useful! Thank you for watching!

[@christopherandrews262]

Thank you, Erin.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching!

[@Ison3Ison3]

Thank YOU!

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching!

[@user-nc3fv7nu2f]

Thank You Erin ,this helped me a lot , You are the BEST

[@erinwrightwriting]

I am so glad that it helped! Thank you for watching!

[@leoberger4589]

I appreciate your kind assistance.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you so much for your support! I wish you all the best with your Word project!

[@leoberger4589]

Thanks!

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for your support of my channel!

[@kiizahillary8472]

Your a great tutor really. You explain things in a simple way that is easy to follow. Thank you so much for great work

[@erinwrightwriting]

I appreciate your kind words! Thank you so much for watching!

[@bikashpandey4051]

Thanks

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching!

[@michaeltraughber5246]

Thank you. I was having trouble with this, they didn't show us this in my computer applications class.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! I wish you all the best with your class!

[@fookyloh4995]

Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. Can you do a video on auto numbering with multi-level lists?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for the topic suggestion; I will add it to my list!

[@trwork89]

Great tutorial, also good to note you can hit the indent buttons as your building the list, if you don't want to go back and edit. There's always some editing to do though =P

[@erinwrightwriting]

You’re right, there’s always some editing to do! Thank you for watching!

[@hussain55019]

I love you.

[@erinwrightwriting]

You are very kind. Thank you for watching!

[@kevynsettle1133]

Hello, is there a video for keeping the line spacing b/t a numbered list 1, but formatting the line spacing between the numbers as 1.5? In other words i'd like numbered list intra-number text to wrap to the default space between the lines and have the space between the numbers 1.5. thank you, k-

[@erinwrightwriting]

Hello, that is a great question! I don't have a tutorial on that topic, yet. However, here are the quick steps: Select the whole numbered list. Select the Line and Paragraph Spacing button in the Home tab. Select Line Spacing Options from the drop-down menu. Deselect "Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style" in the Paragraph dialog box. Then, adjust your spacing in the Before or After text boxes (but not both). Best of luck!

[@joshrockwellchem]

Hi Erin. I'm trying to create a numbered list that has the levels to mimic some state codes and they need to match: ABC... next level 123... next level abc ...I don't see that as a standard option. How can I change to that or customize it?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Great question! I have a separate tutorial showing how to create your own custom list numbers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fp2XkICPn5qaj5Y. (I also have a Mac version, so please let me know if you need that one instead.) Thank you for watching!

[@CheckMate657879]

I noticed you only used 1-digit numbers in your example. I'm typing a document involving text and the numbering of one-three digit numbers. When I got to 2-digits, I had to change the font to a smaller size so that all of the tabs would align vertically. Now, that I'm on 3-digits, the formatting has gone completely haywire. An auto tab inserts five additional spaces from the other tabs. I've changed the font size to 8 and the numbers and text are still not aligned vertically with the previous numbers and text, not to mention that the font has to be a specific size and it isn't 8. I don't understand why the tabs don't align automatically to make space for the third digit and maintain the vertical alignment. Can you help? Thank you.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Great question! I have a KZbin Short showing how to align the numbers on the periods: kzbin.infoFfZMeWKHmew.

[@anthonylopezgallegos2682]

Erin, Is there a way to keep the . (period) in a row without being changed, especially when you get to the number 10. I want the . (period) to align and not the numbers. Anthony Lopez 1 11 23 I hope you understand my question because it is cumbersome to ask. Again, a list of numbered items where the period remains constant. Thanks.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Great question, Anthony! To align the period, (1) click the first number to select all the numbers, (2) select the Numbering menu arrow in the Home tab, (3) select Define New Number Format from the drop-down menu, and (4) Select Right in the Alignment text box. I hope that helps!

[@ciannemcginnis5613]

HELP??? I've been using Microsoft Word for well over 35 years, and am currently using Microsoft Word 365 for a PC. I have never had to seek assistance to correct an issue until now. Thank God I lucked into yours first, as you have a clear and concise method of tutoring, that I'm hoping can help me with a crisis that is making me feel quite inadequate. I have been given a ten-page document that someone else created, containing multiple lists on different pages. I've been tasked with correctlly re-formatting the document, including those lists. None of the lists are multilevel, but some are bulleted, some are right margin numbered, some are left margin numbered, and they have different size and font text formatting on them. It's a nightmare! I've been attempting to change the lists to all be the same type and style, but I can't seem to do that. I don't want to re-type this document; is there any way I can correct the numbering to one compatible style? I've already removed all of the formatting on the first one, and then started over creating that list with the formatting that I want, but then I couldn't get the others to retain that same style as there are paragraphs of text between the lists, and the lists must all start with number one again. HELP???

[@erinwrightwriting]

That is an interesting question! I think the easiest way to accomplish your task may be to format the first list as you want it, and then save it as a style by selecting it and then selecting Create a Style from the Styles group in the Home tab. Then, you could select each remaining list and apply that style. If the numbers don't restart at 1, right-click the list and select Restart at 1 from the shortcut menu. Thank you for watching!

[@ciannemcginnis5613]

Thank you. I will definitely give that a try and let you know what happens. By the way, I meant to compliment your teaching style and forgot to do so. Up until now I have only been watching guy’s videos for help and learning new techniques. I love seeing a woman in this field and you are great at your job. I subscribed and will recommend you to my friends. 🤗

[@tizme2311]

Interesting, most of this I already knew, my task is to create 2 parallel lists, for example, I have a number sequence from 1 > 24, but, I want to split the list at 12 and sown the list numbering 13 > 24 in a parallel list to the list 1 > 12, reason the simple list 1>24 takes up too much linear space on the page. Any suggestions?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Great question! The easiest way is to place the list into a two-column table and then remove the table borders or change them to white so they are not visible. You can also use the Column and Column break options on the Layout tab. However, that method requires quite a bit more care in order to not affect all the text after the list. Thank you so much for watching!

[@LyndaPendleton]

I am generally somewhat proficient with this skill, but I do have a list that will not “restart at 1/restart at a“. - As a second question, I have my numbered lists assigned as a style. The numbers are indented by .25 with the hanging indent and additional .25. Sometimes my numbered bullets jump to an indent of .5 with the hanging indent an additional .25. It happens especially when I say restart at one. Is there something wrong with my style?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you so much for watching! Unfortunately, I can't identify the source of your issues. Based on my own experience and comments from other viewers, Word does appear to be having some list-related glitches right now. If you suspect a glitch, I strongly encourage you to report the issue to Microsoft through the Feedback option in Word.

[@MOSHIGHProductions]

I am having many problems trying to format numbered items that have already been typed in a document that is a Question & Answer format that has multiple lines in each item. There is even explanatory info between some items. The original document was done on a Mac and I am editing on a PC using Word 2019. It is very frustrating and a hit-or-miss operation. Any advice?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! Many issues can affect numbering in Word. My first suggestion would be to show your formatting (the button on the Home tab that looks like the paragraph symbol) so you can see formatting that may be conflicting with the changes you are trying to make. I wish you all the best with your Word project!

[@MOSHIGHProductions]

Thanks a bunch! I took your advice and the task is going much better. It is still tedious, but now I have a system that will get me to the finish line-slowly but surely. Your voice so calming as you give clear and concise guidance. Hats off to you from one teacher to another. (Although I’m probably more than twice your age; I’ll be 79 next month.)

[@user-wo9um7zs1b]

Hello I want to be able to have my numbering sequence remain the same on more than one page. How do I do this?

[@erinwrightwriting]

Great question! I have a Short (kzbin.infoSWBTdZ0SR0M) showing how to continue the numbering between lists.

[@focusedin7813]

In a multi-paged word file numbered list gets continuing. Is there any option to restart the numbering from 1 for each pages ?. *changing for each page one by one is not practical, bcs it has more than 200 pages. thank you.

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! I am not aware of a way to stop continuous list numbering for an entire document all at once. If I find a solution, I will definitely create a tutorial. I wish you all the best!

[@fespa]

No one in youtube has an example with an existing word document where numbers are already typed in, as most of the real cases are.

[@arjuntomar6920]

Ma'am I want change alfabet font in middle order example :- (I) replace (j) in the order of list

[@arjuntomar6920]

How it possible?? If can plz tell me?

[@BruceWayne-dr9zh]

Can u tell me how to insert caption on two side by side images in ms Word 2019 ? Please🙏🙏

[@erinwrightwriting]

To use one caption for both images, place the images in a table and then add the caption to the table. Best of luck!

[@BruceWayne-dr9zh]

@@erinwrightwriting I need 2 different captions for 2 different images which are placed side by side... As soon as I put 2nd caption, the figure no. Interchanges...😔

[@mashihodpotatoetm4572]

@@BruceWayne-dr9zh I usually just use text boxes for those

[@faizerinofialdi9369]

hwy my set numbering value cant click... any solusion?..

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! I have never encountered that issue, so I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions. However, I found this thread on the Microsoft support community forum that discusses the issue: answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/im-trying-to-restart-a-list-at-1-but-the-right/06821802-a457-40cf-a46a-27941387acca. One of the solutions seems to be to switch from using the numbered list tool to the multilevel list tool.

[@merou35]

how to make A1) A2) .............

[@erinwrightwriting]

Thank you for watching! I don't have a tutorial on that topic yet (it's coming up!). However, I found this article online that you may find helpful: officemastery.com/_word-multilevel-numbering-word/. Best of luck!