Lock numbers in word

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Turn Automatic Bullets and Numbering Off or On in Microsoft Word

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated March 22, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft^® Word^® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 or 365 (Windows)

You can turn off automatic bullets and numbering in Word by changing AutoFormat settings in the AutoCorrect dialog box. Automatic bullets and numbering are turned on by default but you can turn these options off or on when needed. If Word seems to be automatically formatting your document, there are also other AutoFormat As You Type options that can be turned off.

If automatic bulleted and numbered lists are turned on in AutoCorrect, when you type an asterisk and then press the spacebar, Word will start creating a bulleted list. If you type 1. and then press the spacebar, Word will assume you want to start a numbered list.

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Turning off automatic bullets or numbering

To turn off automatic bullets or numbering

1. Click the File tab in the Ribbon.
2. Select Options. A dialog box appears.
3. In the categories on the left, select Proofing.
4. Click AutoCorrect. A dialog box appears.
5. Select the Autoformat As You Type Tab.
6. Deselect on uncheck Automatic bulleted list and / or Automatic numbered lists.
7. Select OK twice.

Automatic bulleted and number list options appear in the Autocorrect dialog box:

Turning off automatic formatting of bulleted or numbered lists

To turn off automatic formatting of bulleted or numbered lists:

1. Click the File tab in the Ribbon.
2. Select Options. A dialog box appears.
3. In the categories on the left, select Proofing.
4. Click AutoCorrect. A dialog box appears.
5. Select the Autoformat As You Type Tab.
6. Deselect on uncheck Format beginning of list item like the one before it.
7. Select OK twice.

Often, when Word seems to insert or format automatically, a setting in AutoCorrect is the issue. Note that AutoFormat As You Type and AutoFormat are two different tabs. AutoFormat as You Type options will make changes as you type. AutoFormat options will change an existing document so be very careful selecting options on the AutoFormat tab.

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In Word, automatic numbering feature can sometimes be annoying for those who don’t want it. In this article, we will introduce 4 ways to cancel it in your Word.

Automatic numbering is a very helpful and time-saving feature in Word. That is, if you type a number “1.” and text, and then press “Enter”, Word will automatically insert the next number in sequence. However, this feature in Word can sometimes be maddening when you don’t want it. Fortunately, this feature can be easily turned off. To do it, you can use the following 4 method as we shall soon see.

Method 1: Delete Them Manually

Typically, we will delete the auto-numbered lists manually after you press “Enter”. That is, to remove it for the current paragraph, you can immediately press “Backspace” right after the automatic numbering is applied. Alternatively, you can press “Enter” again after the auto-numbering is applied to the current paragraph.

Method 2: Press “Shift＋Enter” Instead of “Enter”

Generally, we press “Enter” to start a new paragraph. This will create automatic numbered lists for your paragraph. However, if we can also cancel it by pressing “Shift＋Enter” instead of “Enter”. Yet, this method comes with indentation of the first line. This means you need to adjust to make your paragraph the way you like.

Method 3: Undo Auto-Numbering in Current Document

If you would rather not apply auto-numbering in your current document, you can disable this feature by the following method:

1. After you type a number and hit the space bar, there appears “Autocorrect Options” button on the left. 

1. Click the drop-down arrow. And then select “Undo Automatic Numbering”.

Method 4: Stop Automatic Numbering for All Documents

The above 3 method will cancel automatic numbering for the current paragraph or document. However, you can also set Word to turn off the this feature permanently. An this will apply to all of your Word document.

1. Click “File” and then click “Options”. 

1. In the following dialogue box, switch to “Proofing” page. And then click “AutoCorrect Option”.

1. A pop up window will appear. Under the “AutoFormat As You Type” page, click the tick in the “Automatic bulleted lists” and “Automatic numbered lists” box. Finally, click “OK”.

Be Mindful of Word File Corruptions

As we can see, Word tries to be helpful by automatically applying formatting to your document. However, you can also set Word to make your document look exactly how you like. And for such frequently used software like Word, it is hard to think of anything worse than losing your data on your Word document. Therefore, it is of vital importance to take hold of a powerful external tool to recover word in times of data disasters . This tool is capable of scanning your corrupted file, as also carrying out a quick Word recovery.

Author Introduction

Kelly Zhao is a data recovery expert in DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including excel recovery and pdf repair software products. For more information visit www.datanumen.com

For example, revision dates should remain unchanged:

To lock or unlock the field from automatic or inadvertent updating, do the following:

• To lock the field to prevent updates, click on the field, and then press Ctrl+F11:

So, the Update Field command is disabled for this field:

• To unlock the field for updates, click on the field, and then press Ctrl+Shift+F11:

You can right-click this field and choose Update Field in the popup menu:

See also this tip in French:
Comment verrouiller et déverrouiller la mise à jour des champs dans le document Word.

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MS Word and Google Docs are two of the foremost word processing applications. Both those word processors include numbered bullet list formatting options. However, Word and Docs automatically apply numbered bullet points when users enter 1. and press the Space key. This is not always ideal as users don’t always want to add  numbered lists when they enter 1. in a document. Thus, some Microsoft Word and Doc users might need to turn off automatic numbering.

How Can Users Turn Off Auto Numbering in Word and Docs?

1. Turn Off Auto Numbering in MS Word

1. To turn off automatic number formatting in Word, click the File tab.
2. Click Options to open the window in the shot directly below.

   

3. Click the Proofing tab on the left of the window.
   
4. Press the Autocorrect Options button.
5. Click the Autoformat as You Type tab shown directly below.
   
6. Deselect the Automatic numbered list check box.
7. Then uncheck the Automatic bulleted list option.
8. Click the OK button to exit the AutoCorrect window.
9. Then press the OK button the Word Options window.

2. Turn Off Auto Numbering in Google Docs

1. To turn off automatic numbering in Google Docs, click the Tools menu in Docs.
2. Select the Preferences option to open the window shown directly below.

   

3. Deselect the Automatically detect lists check box.
4. Click the OK button.

Neither Word or Docs will automatically detect lists after deselecting the options specified above. So, users can then enter 1. without automatically adding numbered bullet point lists to their documents. Users can also turn off other automatic formatting by deselecting other settings in Word’s AutoFormat As You Type tab and Doc’s Preferences window.

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