Word 2013 – Working with Bullets and Numbering
Adding Automatic Bullets and Numbering
1. Select the paragraphs that you wish to add bullets or numbers.
2. Select the Home tab.
3. Click either the Bullets
or Numbering
button.
Clicking the face of the button will give a default style or, the
last style used. Use the drop-down arrow at the right to select
an alternative in the Library.
When formatting paragraphs with bullets and numbering,
Word indents the paragraphs to give added emphasis. If you
prefer your paragraphs un-indented, select them and click the
Decrease Indent button
the Home tab.
1. Right-click anywhere over the list that you want the numbering
to continue from the previous list.
2. Click Continue Numbering in the shortcut menu.
Conversely, Word may think that your second list is the same as the
first one and has continued the numbering when, in fact, you wish
it to restart numbering from 1. In these cases, you can also change
it.
1. Right-click anywhere over the list that you want the numbering
to continue from the previous list.
2. Click Restart at 1 in the shortcut menu.
Tip: You can also change the start number by clicking the small
AutoCorrect Options button that appears next to an automatic
number immediately after it is added.
This button will only remain visible
until you carry out another action (eg.
type something).
Sometimes, you may want not want to continue numbering from
the previous list or start from 1 again. In these cases, you can enter
a custom value.
1. Right-click anywhere over the list that you want the numbering
to restart from a custom number.
2. Click Set Numbering Value… in the shortcut menu.
3. Enter a value in the Set value to: spin box.
in the Paragraph group of
Removing Bullets and Numbering
1. Select the paragraphs from which you wish to remove bullets
or numbers.
shortcut menu.
3. Adjust measurements as necessary to produce the required
effect. Settings are as follows:
 Number position: - this is the distance between the left
margin and the bullet or number.
 Text indent: - this is the distance between the left margin and
where the text starts. For standard font sizes (10 or 11pt) the
author of this document suggests it is always at least 0.6cm
greater than Number position:


Follow number with: - leave as Tab character.
Add tab stop at: - leave unticked. This is only needed in
exceptional circumstances where a hanging indent is not
used.
Multi-level Bullets and Numbering
Sometimes, you may want a numbered paragraph to be followed by a
paragraph with a ‘sub’ bullet or number. For example, a main heading
will have a number 1. But you want its sub-headings to be a. b. c., etc.
1. Select all the paragraphs that you wish to add outline bullets or
numbers.
2. Select the Home tab.
3. Click either the Bullets
or Numbering
button.
Clicking the face of the button will give a default style or, the last
style used. Use the drop-down arrow at the right to select an
alternative in the Library.
4. Click onto the first paragraph that you want to make a sub point
of the one above.
5. Click Increase Indent in the Paragraph group of the Home tab
2. Select the Home tab.
to ‘demote’ the paragraph.
3. Click either the Bullets
or Numbering
button.
Tip: If an automatic bullet or number appears after pressing Enter,
you can remove it by pressing Backspace (if you want to continue
typing on the same line) or pressing Enter again (to start typing on
a new line).
Changing the Start Number for a Numbered List
If you have applied numbering to two separate lists in your
document, Word ‘thinks’ that they are unrelated and will start
numbering the second one again from 1.
If this is not the case and you wish the numbering to continue
from where the previous list left off, you can change it.
6. Repeat step 5 for all other paragraphs that you want to make sub
Adjusting Indents
points.
After formatting your paragraphs with
bullets or numbering, you may wish to
adjust the indentations.
1. Right-click over a bullet or number
whose indentations you wish to
change. It, and all other bullets or
numbers at the same level and that
are part of the same list will
highlight with a grey background.
2. Select Adjust List Indents… from the
7. Select any paragraphs that you want to make a sub-sub
paragraph.
8. Click Increase Indent again to demote it to the next level down.
You can demote paragraphs down to nine levels.
9. If you have demoted any paragraphs too far, click Decrease
Indent
1
to ‘promote’ the paragraph.
Word 2013 – Working with Bullets and Numbering
Changing Multi-level Bullet or Numbering Style
When creating multi-level lists for bullets, Word defaults to using:
... and for numbering:
Removing Multilevel Numbering, Changing the Start
Number and Adjusting Indents
Techniques are similar to those described earlier in this document,
the main exception being adjusting list indents.
If you have picked a multilevel style from the Multilevel Numbering
Library, you will be presented with the following dialog box:
doesn’t change the hyphen, it indents the paragraph and gives you
another hyphen when you press Enter.
Although many users find this feature useful and can work with it
effectively, some find it difficult to manage and ‘interfering’.
To stop Word trying to help you in this way:
1. Select the File tab.
2. Click Options.
3. Select Proofing at the left.
4. Click the AutoCorrect Options… button
.
5. Select the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
Both these default styles can be customised to using different
bullet and numbering schemes (eg. 1. 1.1. 1.2. 1.3., etc.).
Bullets:
1. Click on the bullet that you want to change
the style of.
It, and all other bullets at the same level
and that are part of the same list will
highlight with a grey background.
2. Click the down-arrow at the right of the
Bullets button in the Paragraph group of
the Home tab.
3. Select a different bullet from the Library. All
the bullets should change consistently.
Numbers:
1. Click on any paragraph in the list where you want to change
the multi-level style.
2. Click Multilevel List in the Paragraph group of the Home tab
.
3. Select an alternative style from
the two at the top of the List
Library. The styles in the
second and third rows involve
the use of styles and may
present difficulties to less
experienced Word users. Style
are covered in our Microsoft
Word 2013 Level 3 course and
are outside the scope of this
guide.
6. Untick the Automatic bulleted lists and Automatic numbered
lists check boxes.
7. Click OK.
8. Click OK again.
1. Select in the Click level to modify list the numbering level that
you wish to change the indentations for.
2. Under Position at the bottom of the dialog box, enter in the
Aligned at: spin box the distance between the left margin and
the number.
3. Under Position at the bottom of the dialog box, enter in the
Text indented at: spin box the distance between the left margin
and where the text starts. For standard font sizes (10 or 11pt)
the author of this document suggests it is always at least 0.6cm
greater than Aligned at:
4. Click OK.
Automatic Bullets and Numbering ‘As You Type’
Word has a built-in feature designed to help you create automatic
bulleted and numbered list.
If you start typing a new paragraph with a number followed by a
full stop, Word formats the paragraph with automatic numbering.
When you then press Enter, Word assumes you are starting a new
paragraph and gives you an automatic sequential number.
A similar thing happens if you start a new paragraph with a hyphen.
Word ‘thinks’ you are creating a bulleted list and although it
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