level 1
· 5 yr. ago
If you insert page number and untick the show number on the first page it will not show on the first page. The next step is to click on format and make the page numbers start at 0, then on your first page you will see p.1, same thing for the running head. Go into Header & Footer options to change them
1
Multilevel numbering in Word is the #1 headache for many people working with large documents.
Believe it or not, it’s not complicated. It just takes somebody to lead the way and point out the pitfalls you need to avoid.
Today that pleasure falls to me!
Before I start, grab your free multilevel numbering troubleshooting guide that shows you the steps to get multilevel numbering working properly first time, every time, together with answers to over 20 FAQs and plenty of real client examples constructed step by step to help you fix what isn’t working with your numbering.
1. What Multi-level Numbering Looks Like
Often used in the legal profession or in large corporate documents, multilevel numbering creates a logical hierarchy and easy navigation within the document. The headings can also be summarised later on in a table of contents. Here is a simple example:
2. How to Set Up Multilevel Numbering
Here is the correct process:
1. Select the text that you want to number (this can be a section of text or the whole document).
2. Select the Home tab.
3. Click the multilevel numbering icon in the Paragraph group.
4. You can either select an existing layout from the list to use as a starting point, or you can create a new numbering system from scratch. As you hover over each thumbnail image, Word provides a larger image of the numbering system.
5. Choose Define New Multilevel List to display the control dialog.
The dialog box can be broken down as follows:
Step #1 Click level to modify
In the top left is a list of levels. As you select each level, the settings in the rest of the dialog box changes.
Level 1 is the highest level, i.e. the main headings such as chapter or section titles.
Level 2 is subordinate to level 1.
Level 3 is subordinate to level 2.
Step #2 Enter formatting for number
This is where the level number is constructed. If you include a previous level number, it will be displayed with a grey background, as will the number for the current level.
Type anything you wish to put in between the numbers such as dots, dashes, brackets etc.
Clear any text in the ‘Enter formatting for this number’ box.
Step #3 Include level number from
When creating a subordinate level (or child level), you can first specify the level number of the parent.
For example, for section 3.2
- ‘3’ is the parent level (level 1) and
- ‘2’ is the child level (level 2)
Step #4 Number style for this level
Each level can have its own number style. It may be a standalone style, e.g. 1, 2, 3 or a, b, c or continue on from a higher level, e.g. 1.1.1 or 1.a.i.
- When creating 1.1 numbering, this option is 1, 2, 3.
- When creating 1.a numbering, this option is a, b, c
Step #5 Font
Set the font formatting for the selected level, if you want.
Step #6 Position
What position from the left margin do you want items for each level of numbering. For example, level 1 items may be 0cm from the left margin, level 2, 1cm from the left margin and level 3, 2cm from the left margin.
Here’s what they mean:
- The Aligned At determines how far from the left margin the number appears.
- The Text indent at figure determines how far from the left margin the text following the number is.
6. Click OK to save all the settings and close the dialog box.
The text you selected in step 1 now looks like this.
The next part is where the magic happens …
3. How to Apply Multilevel Numbering
Once you have created your numbering system:
1. Position the cursor at the beginning of a line.
2. Press the TAB key to move the text down a level (demote).
3. Press the SHIFT and TAB keys together to move the text up a level (promote).
If you prefer, you can also click the indent icon to demote and the outdent icon to promote between levels.
4. How to Change Multilevel Settings
Once you have created your numbering system:
1. Reselect all text that is using the multilevel numbering.
2. Click the multilevel numbering icon and select Define New Multilevel List (yes, you choose this option even if you are modifying an existing multilevel list).
The original settings that you defined are redisplayed.
3. In the top-left box select the level that you wish to change, then change your settings.
4. Repeat for the other settings.
5. Click OK to save the settings. Your numbered list should now reflect your new settings.
5. Linking Multilevel Numbering to Styles
Each level of a multilevel numbering system can be linked to a style. This means that as you apply styles throughout the document, the numbering is applied appropriately and automatically. You can either use the built-in Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 styles or use your own custom styles.
1. In the Numbering dialog box, click the MORE button in the bottom-left corner to expand the dialog box.
2. Select level to modify in the top-left box.
3. Open the Link level to style drop-down list and choose the style you wish to connect to the numbering level.
4. Click OK.
5. In the document, apply the Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 styles where needed.
It’s a good idea to create a body text style and apply that where appropriate, so that the body text does not inadvertently get caught up in the multi-level numbering.
6. Select the whole document (or the portion of the document where you want to apply your numbered sections).
7. Click the icon in the Paragraph group (Home tab).
8. Select your custom numbering style from the gallery. The thumbnail image should show the linked styles.
6. How to Use Styles to Set Number Levels
1. Select all the text that you wish to apply the same number level to. Alternatively, if you wish to go line by line, you can place the cursor anywhere in a line of text.
2. In the Styles gallery, click the style that corresponds to the number level you wish to apply. For example, to apply the top level numbering click Heading 1 and for the third level numbering click Heading 3 (assuming those are the styles you assigned).
The numbering and all the numbering settings will be applied to the selected text or the paragraph in which the cursor was positioned.
And that, my friend, is how you do multilevel numbering in Word with no loose ends.
How to set up a dual-multilevel numbering system in Word
7. Two resources to help you
1. Grab your free multilevel numbering troubleshooting guide.
2. Watch over my shoulder as I set up multilevel numbering from scratch.
8. What next?
I hope you found plenty of value in this post. I’d love to hear your biggest takeaway in the comments below together with any questions you may have.
Have a fantastic day.
About the author
Jason Morrell
Jason loves to simplify the hard stuff, cut the fluff and share what actually works. Things that make a difference. Things that slash hours from your daily work tasks. He runs a software training business in Queensland, Australia, lives on the Gold Coast with his wife and 4 kids and often talks about himself in the third person!
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The other day a colleague of mine had a question about numbering. She was writing a rather long document and wanted to do (or have) few things in her document:
1. To number paragraphs automatically,
2. To start numbering from a given paragraph number.
How? It is easy. Let see how to do that.
First, let me explain a little more about Fields and associated options. There are not many of them and knowing fields better will help you creating better documents and save your time.
Here is the document and I want each article to have its own number, starting from number four (4). I also want Word to number paragraphs automatically when I copy/paste the text “Article 4” by increasing number 4 by 1 (one).
Sure, I can copy/paste the text “Article 4” and change the value manually. But what would happen if I had a hundred (200) articles and wanted to delete Article 9? I would have to correct all remaining values to correct sequence number: I would have to make 91 corrections. And I would have to do that each and every time I add or delete an article.
Imagine what would you have to do if Word was lacking its page numbering feature? I don’t want even to think about it. You would have to manually correct page numbers every time you add or delete a page. That’s exactly the same. (Believe it or not, I remember typing on a typewriter and making a mistake, adding and throwing pages away, making corrections and typing into the night…)
I can’t use Numbering feature here because the text would look like this:
Fortunately there are Fields to ease our tasks, to automate and enhance documents. There are lot of them, and and we are going to meet some. This time the ones that deal with numbering.
To have auto numbering feature automatically update a number we need to insert Field first.
1. Type a text, for example, Article, and press Space to separate the word from the field.
2. Go to Insert tab, click Quick Parts and choose Field…
This opens the Field dialog box:
This dialog box has two parts:
1. Narrower part on the left, where you choose a field from a list of available fields. On the top there is Categories pull-down menu that can help you narrow down the field list. Description is on the bottom.
2. Wider part on the right, where you can change Field Properties of the selected field.
Word 2010 has 9 field categories and 77 fields.
Click on Numbering category to filter and display fields that are related to numbering.
Take a look at the Field Names on the left. Have you noticed something familiar? No? Take look again.
AutoNum is selected and first in the list that look familiar. Click on Page field. Familiar too? Yes! These features you were using are Fields actually!
Numbering and Page Numbers are fields and we were using them without even noticing!
Like two mentioned before, you’ve heard of other well known fields: table of contents, total number of pages, outlined numbered lists, date and time, index and tables, mail merge and others. In fact, all Fields have a shared feature (guess what ): they are updated automatically!
Two examples are shown below:
Back to our Field dialog box.
On the left click ListNum. This is the field we were looking for and it has some “switches” and “levers” we can pull to make some adjustments to fit our needs.
Now you have Field Properties and Field Options. Field Codes button on bottom left is used to reveal Field Codes of the selected field. Fields are, essentially, data placeholders and Field Codes define what data fields are made of and what kind of data is filled and updated in it.
When pressed, Field Codes button changes to Hide Codes button and reveals Advanced Field Properties that displays (1) Field Codes for the field, (2) field syntax, and (3) Options… button.
Options button reveals Options dialog box specific for the chosen field where you can adjust its various options.
Dialog box on the left displays Field Option specific to ListNum field.
Different fields have different field options.
Four different Field Properties control type of numbering displayed in the document:
In combination with Level in the list Field Options, the results are as follows:
List Name |
(none) |
LegalDefault |
NumberDefault |
OutlineDefault |
Level in the list=OFF |
1) |
1. |
1) |
I. |
Level in the list=1 |
1) |
1. |
1) |
I. |
Level in the list=2 |
a) |
1.1. |
a) |
A. |
Level in the list=3 |
i) |
1.1.1. |
i) |
1. |
Level in the list=4 |
(1) |
1.1.1.1. |
(1) |
a) |
Level in the list=5 |
(a) |
1.1.1.1.1. |
(a) |
(1) |
Level in the list=6 |
(i) |
1.1.1.1.1.1. |
(i) |
(a) |
Level in the list=7 |
1. |
1.1.1.1.1.1.1. |
1. |
(i) |
Level in the list=8 |
a. |
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. |
a. |
(a) |
Level in the list=9 |
i. |
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. |
i. |
(i) |
If selected, fields are highlighted in gray color.
Left-click on the field you’ve just entered displays menu with two options related to field: Edit Field… and Toggle Field Codes.
Toggle Field Codes has its keyboard shortcut for faster switching between field codes and text: SHIFT+F9. When field code is shown in the document you can type directly in the field and change its values, without opening Field dialog box. That way, changing field values and adjusting it to fit your needs, is faster.
IMPORTANT: Field codes have their syntaxes. If the syntax is not correct, the field won’t update and, eventually, work. Make sure you don’t leave some extra spaces or letters after editing, and add space between brackets and text if its needed. Just make sure that the syntax is correct.
Finally, here is the option that will solve our problem: Start-at value. If you check this option and enter a number, Word starts counting from that number. It works only with positive numbers and negative numbers don’t have any effect.
If you have not typed any text yet, take a look at my post about generating dummy text.
1. Generate some text to practice if you want to, but you don’t need any. It works fine on blank page, too.
2. Type a text before a paragraph, for example, Article, and press Space to separate the word from the field.
3. Go to Insert tab, click Quick Parts and click Field…
4. On the left, in Categories pull-down menu, click Numbering.
5. Under Field Names, click ListNum.
6. In the middle, under ListName, click LegalDefault.
7. On the right, under Field Options, select Start-at value: checkbox and type value 4 in the space provided.
8. Click OK.
There it is! You have created a field with an automatic numbering feature turned on. Now, if you click onto number 4 it will be highlighted grey. Press SHIFT+F9 and Word will reveal field codes for the selected field. It looks like this: Article { LISTNUM LegalDefault s 4 }
Press SHIFT+F9 again and it will switch back to Article 4. text.
Wait! Just few steps more and we’re done:
1. Select Article 4. text and copy it to clipboard (CTRL+C, for example).
2. Paste it in the next line or before some other paragraph, if you practice on text (CTRL+V).
3. Click on number 4 in “Article 4.” text
4. Right-click on Field and click Edit Field…
5. Un-check Start-at value checkbox.
6. Click OK.
What happened? It displays “Article 5.” now!
Now you can select “Article 5.” text and paste it around as many times as you want. Each time you paste it, it will increase its number by 1. If you delete any field(s) or add field(s), Word will update its number. You don’t have to update manually article numbers anymore because Word and fields are doing it for you.
If you want to break the sequence and start at different number just repeat what you have done before (steps 2. to 8.) and Word will start numbering from the number you typed in.
Take a look at other fields, you might find something useful to use at your workplace.
Good luck!
This tutorial shows two ways 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.
Do you want to create bulleted lists? Please see my previous tutorial “How to Create Bulleted Lists in Microsoft Word.”
What about Lists Ordered by Letters?
For simplicity, this tutorial refers to “numbered lists” because Word organizes all ordered (hierarchical) list options in the Numbering Library. However, all the steps shown here also apply to lists organized by letters.
If you would like to learn more about ordered and unordered lists, please see “How to Write Vertical Lists (Ordered and Unordered).”
Table of Contents
- How to Create a Numbered List — Basic Method 1
- How to Create a Numbered List — Basic Method 2
- How to Change Numbered List Levels
- How to Start a List with a Different Number
- How to Change the Font, Size, and Color of List Numbers
Watch all the steps shown here in real time!
Explore more than 200 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.
The basic steps are similar in Word for Mac. However, the more advanced steps, such as starting a list with a different number, are different on Mac. So, we will cover this topic for Word for Mac in a separate tutorial.
How to Create a Numbered List — Basic Method 1
This is the basic method to create a numbered list in Word. This method requires you to type each item as you create the list. If you have already typed your list items, see Method Two below.
- Place your cursor where you want to start your list.
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon.
- Select the menu arrow next to the Numbering button.
- Choose a number style from the Numbering Library.
The number one will appear in your document.
- Type your first list item after the number, and then press the Enter key on your keyboard. The next number will appear.
Continue typing your list items and pressing the Enter key until your list is complete.
- After typing the final item, press the Enter key twice to remove your cursor from the list.
How to Create a Numbered List — Basic Method 2
This method is for existing text formatted vertically as a list.
- Select the text.
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the menu arrow next to the Numbering button (see figure 2).
- Choose a style from the Numbering Library (see figure 3).
Your selected items should become a numbered list.
How to Change Numbered List Levels
Word lets you create numbered lists with up to nine nested levels. Here are two ways to change the level of list items.
Change List Levels — Method 1
Important note: This method won’t work for the first item in your list.
- Select one or more list items (other than the first item).
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the Increase Indent button in the Paragraph group.
Each time you select the Increase Indent button, the item(s) will move one level and take on the appropriate format for that level (e.g., lowercase letters, roman numerals, etc.).
Pro Tip: To return the selected text to a previous level, select the Decrease Indent button to the left of the Increase Indent button.
Change List Levels — Method 2
- Select one or more list items (see figure 8).
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the menu arrow next to the Numbering button (see figure 2).
- Select Change List Level from the drop-down menu.
- Select a list level from the list-level menu.
Your list item(s) should move to the next level.
How to Start a List with a Different Number
You can start a list with a number other than one or continue the numbering from the previous list.
- Select the first list number or place your cursor within the first list item. If you select the list number, all numbers on that level should also be selected.
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the menu arrow next to the Numbering button (see figure 2).
- Select Set Numbering Value from the drop-down menu.
5.a. Enter the number you want to start with in the Set value to text box in the Set Numbering Value dialog box.
5.b. (Alternative Option) Select Continue from previous list if you want to continue the numbering from a previous list in your document.
- Select the OK button.
Your list should be renumbered according to your selections in the Set Numbering Value dialog box.
How to Change the Font, Size, and Color of List Numbers
By default, the font, size, and color of your list numbers will be the same as your normal text style. However, you can manually change the appearance of list numbers by selecting them separately from the text.
- Select one list number. All numbers on that level should also be selected.
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select a new font, size, or color from the Font group.
Your list numbers should change to the new formatting. Repeat these steps for each level in your list, as necessary.
Related Resources
How to Write Run-In Lists
How to Create and Update a List of Tables or Figures in Microsoft Word
How to Create Numbered Lists in PowerPoint (PC & Mac)
Updated February 12, 2023
There are a couple of ways you can set up Word 2007/2010 to use SEQ fields for numbering — you can set them up as AutoCorrect entries or as Quick Parts. Both ways work; the method you choose is up to you. This long article describes how to create the SEQ fields and the numbering style in your Normal.dotm template; how to save the SEQ fields as AutoCorrect entries in Word 2007/2010 (and how to use them); and how to save (and use) them as Quick Parts. The most consuming part of this process is settings up the fields and the style; once they’re set up, using them is super easy.
Please note: While some of this information may be relevant to Word 2003, Quick Parts is new to Word 2007, so this article focuses on Word 2007/2010.
Create the SEQ field to reset the number to 1
- Right-click on the Normal.dotm template, then select Open (in Vista, the Normal.dotm template is stored under C:Users<username>AppDataRoamingMicrosoftTemplates by default).
- Place your cursor on a blank line.
- Go to the Insert tab > Text group, then click the Quick Parts icon.
- Select Field.
- Select Seq from the list of Field names. SEQ displays in the Field codes text box on the right.
- Add this after SEQ: Step r 1 (this will be the ‘reset numbering to 1’ field).
- Click OK. You should notice that ‘1‘ is inserted into the template. If you have field code shading turned on (Word Options > Advanced > Show Document Content section > Field Shading: Always), it will have a gray background.
- Press Enter to create a new line for the next SEQ field you’ll add — the one that will deal with all numbers other than 1.
Create the SEQ field for numbers other than 1
- Go to the Insert tab > Text group, then click the Quick Parts icon.
- Select Field.
- Select Seq from the list of Field names.
- Add this after SEQ: Step n (this will be used for all numbers other than 1).
- Click OK. You should notice that ‘2‘ is inserted into the template if you added this field below the first one.
Add periods and tabs to the fields (optional)
- Make sure you have the Show/Hide marker turned on (Home tab, Paragraph group).
- Select the lines with 1 and 2 on them, then right-click and select Toggle Field Codes to display the code associated with these fields. Note: * MERGEFORMAT is added to the fields if you left the Preserve formatting during updates check box selected on the Field dialog box (this is the default).
- Position your cursor AFTER the closing curly bracket ( } ) of the first field, then add a period followed by a tab. Repeat for the second field.
- Leave the field codes displayed as you’ll need them later.
Create a new style for the SEQ field numbering
You won’t use any of the standard List Number styles for SEQ field numbering. You need to create your own style if you want correct indentation and alignment with the tab position of the first word after the number. In this example, I’ll create a new style called Step Number, but you can call it whatever you want. In this example, I’ve also used the default settings for tab and hanging indent positions — you can change these later if you want.
- Click the Styles dialog launcher on the Home tab > Styles group.
- Click the AA icon at the bottom left of the Styles pane to create a new style.
- Give the new style a name — in this example, we’ll use Step Number.
- Make Step Number the Style for the following paragraph. Leave the other settings as they are for now — you can always change them later.
- Click Format, then select Paragraph to open the Paragraph dialog box.
- Adjust the paragraph settings to suit your preference, making sure you add a Hanging indent value (1.27 cm or 1/2 inch is the default).
- Click Tabs to open the Tabs dialog box.
- Set the left tab stop position (1.27 cm or 1/2 inch is the default).
- Click OK to close each dialog box.
Create the AutoCorrect entries for the fields
Note: AutoCorrect is one way to store and use the SEQ fields — you can use this AutoCorrect method and/or the Quick Parts method described later in this article.
- Make sure the field codes are displayed (see Step 2 in the Add periods and tabs section).
- Select the first field code (the SEQ Step r 1 one), its following period and tab marker but DO NOT select the paragraph marker.
- Go to Word Options (under the Microsoft Office button) > Proofing.
- Click the AutoCorrect Options button.
- Your selection is already displayed in the text box on the right and Formatted text is already selected. In the Replace text box, type 1] (Why ‘1]’? Because you’re unlikely to use this sequence of characters in normal writing, and because it’s what David Knopf suggested back in his original article — and why change something that works?)
- Click Add then click OK.
- Select the second field code (the SEQ Step n one), its following period and tab marker but DO NOT select the paragraph marker.
- Go to Word Options (under the Microsoft Office button) > Proofing.
- Click the AutoCorrect Options button.
- Again, your selection is already displayed in the text box on the right and Formatted text is already selected. In the Replace text box, type n] .
- Click Add then click OK.
Test your AutoCorrect numbering
- Go to a blank line anywhere in the document.
- Type 1] and press Enter. You should see 1. and a tab space.
- Type n] on the next line and press Enter. You should see 2. and a tab space.
- Type n] on the next line and press Enter. You should see 3. and a tab space.
- Type 1] on the next line and press Enter. you should see 1. and a tab space — remember, 1] resets the numbering to 1.
- Select all numbered lines and apply the Step Number style to them. To check the indentation, alignment and text wrapping, add placeholder text for each numbered item.
Create Quick Parts for the fields
Note: Quick Parts is one way to store and use the SEQ fields — you can use this Quick Parts method and/or the AutoCorrect method described earlier in this article. As far as I can tell, you do not have to have the field codes displayed to add these fields as Quick Parts, but it may be easier to see which is which if you do.
- Select the first field code (the SEQ Step r 1 one), its following period and tab marker but DO NOT select the paragraph marker.
- Go to the Insert tab > Text group, then click the Quick Parts icon.
- Select Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery.
- Give the new building block a Name (in this example, I’ve used SEQ Step 1) and add a Description (optional). Leave the other settings as they are for now — you can always change them later.
- Click OK.
- Select the second field code (the SEQ Step n one), its following period and tab marker but DO NOT select the paragraph marker.
- Go to the Insert tab > Text group, then click the Quick Parts icon.
- Select Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery.
- Give the new building block a Name (in this example, I’ve used SEQ Step n) and add a Description (optional).
- Click OK.
Test your Quick Parts numbering
- Put your cursor on a blank line in your document.
- Go to the Insert tab > Text group, then click the Quick Parts icon. Your two new Quick Parts entries are listed in the drop-down — hover over each to see the Description you added displayed as a tooltip.
- Click SEQ Step 1 to insert a 1. into the document. Press Enter to go to the next line.
- Click the Quick Parts icon again, and this time select SEQ Step n to insert 2. into the document.
- Repeat step 4 to keep adding numbers to the sequence.
- When you want to start a new number sequence, click the Quick Parts icon and select SEQ Step 1.
- Select all numbered lines and apply the Step Number style to them. To check the indentation, alignment and text wrapping, add placeholder text for each numbered item.
Clean up your template
- Before saving these changes to your Normal.dotm, remove all text and fields from the document.
- Save the template, and say Yes to saving the changes to the Building Blocks document as well.
That’s it! From now on, all you have to do to add SEQ field numbering is either type in your AutoCorrect text (1] and n]) or select the options from your Quick Parts list. If you find your numbering gets out of whack (remember, the numbers don’t update when you insert a new number between two existing numbers, or delete a number), select the sequence and press F9 (Hint: To update all fields for the entire document, press Ctrl+A then F9).
BONUS!!
Linking to a step number
Using SEQ fields gives you the extra benefit of being able to link to step numbers in the text. You cannot do this in Word using standard number styles or automated numbering. Here’s how:
- Select the SEQ field number you want to link to — don’t select the period, the tab, any of the text, or the paragraph marker.
- Go to the Insert tab > Links group and click the Bookmark icon.
- Give the bookmark a unique but meaningful name, then click Add. (For example, if the step describes how to print, then use print as the bookmark name.)
- In the body of the text place the cursor where you want to refer to that step, then go to the Insert tab > Links group and click the Cross-reference icon.
- Change the Type to Bookmark, and leave the Insert reference to as Bookmark text.
- Click Insert, then Close.
- The text now displays the step number — if you later remove a step before this step, just update the fields with F9 and the cross-reference will update to display the correct number.
See also:
- http://wordribbon.tips.net/T008180_Numbering_with_Sequence_Fields.html
[Link last checked July 2014]