Making and using lists are a necessary part of any nearly role in just about every company. Phone lists, product lists, part numbers, price lists… It goes on and on. Many of us use a word processor like Microsoft’s Word to compose lists, but sometimes creating a numbered list can be a real struggle. Common frustrations include lists that start from 1 each time you enter a new item, or numbering that continues from a previous list. This can be a frustrating problem, but luckily there are things you can do to address it.
Below is an overview of how you can set up ordered lists to either continue numbered lists from where you last left off, or start at #1 with new lists.
Set up numbering for all future lists
- Open a new Word document.
- Go to the Home tab (Press Home at the top of the window)
- Press the downward-facing arrow beside the numbered list button in the Paragraph group. (It’s located on the right of the bullet point button)
- Select Set Numbered Value… from the drop-down menu.
- Click the numbering option you wish to use from the pop-up window.
- Press Ok.
When setting numbered values, you have three options to choose from:
- Start new list – If you select this option, new lists will automatically start at one.
- Continue from previous list – Selecting this option will continue numbering from previous lists in the same document. For example, if you have a paragraph and then a numbered list with three points, and type another paragraph then enter a new list, the list will start from four.
- Set value to: – Lets you set the number at which lists will start.
Change the number value of individual lists
If you have a document with numbered lists already in it, and want to change the number values of one list, you can do so by right-clicking on the first number of a list and selecting either Restart at 1 or Continue numbering.
Note that if you have a document with a continuous list that is separated by paragraphs and choose to reset one list to start at one, all subsequent lists will be changed to reflect the new ordering.