Word 2007 numbered lists

[Office Productivity Consultant]

Is there a way to change the default location for where the number is placed
and where the indent is when you simply click on the numbering button. What
stylye does it use. It only seems to show the list style.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Although you can modify the numbering of a given List Gallery pane in the
Bullets and Numbering dialog, and that format will be used by the Numbering
button until you select a different one, a better approach is to modify one
of the built-in List Number styles to meet your needs. You can then apply
that style (with a keyboard shortcut or toolbar button if desired) when you
want that numbering format.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

"Office Productivity Consultant"

 

[Office Productivity Consultant]

Yes, I know but I have a client who would like to have the standard distance
between the number and the text be .5 in. instead of .25 so that when they
click on the numbering button in the Ribbon, it always starts .5 inches in
and has .5 inches between the number and the text.
--
Judy L

Although you can modify the numbering of a given List Gallery pane in the
Bullets and Numbering dialog, and that format will be used by the Numbering
button until you select a different one, a better approach is to modify one
of the built-in List Number styles to meet your needs. You can then apply
that style (with a keyboard shortcut or toolbar button if desired) when you
want that numbering format.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

"Office Productivity Consultant"

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There is no way to ensure this other than by use of styles.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

"Office Productivity Consultant"

Yes, I know but I have a client who would like to have the standard
distance
between the number and the text be .5 in. instead of .25 so that when they
click on the numbering button in the Ribbon, it always starts .5 inches in
and has .5 inches between the number and the text.

 

[Office Productivity Consultant]

In other words, there is no way when you first go into Word 2007 to always
have that button associated with a particular style. If I could and knew what
the style was it was using, I could just change that style.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The style it displays is List Paragraph, which can be modified. Change the
indent and hanging indent as desired, then right-click and choose Update
List Paragraph to Match Selection. The only problem is that the List
Paragraph style just represents whatever was most recently selected from the
List Gallery, so when you click that button, you can't be sure what you're
going to get.

Example: Apply the 1, 2, 3 style with periods. Change the indents as desired
and update the style. Now, in another paragraph, go back to the List Gallery
(by clicking on the arrow beside the button) and choose the A, B, C style.
Now the next time you click that button, you'll get A, B, C numbering
instead of 1, 2, 3.

In the Multi-level list dialog, there is an option to Define New List Style,
which allows you to name the style, but I don't think there's any guarantee
that that style will be what you apply with that button, either.

I'm pretty much out of my depth here, though, as I haven't had much
experience with Word 2007, and I use only numbered styles in Word 2003.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

"Office Productivity Consultant"

 

[Office Productivity Consultant]

Nope, it doesn't work in 2007. You were right that when you click on the
numbering button, it uses the List style. So, I tried just applying the List
style and changing it to a hanging indent exactly the way I wanted it. Then I
told it to update to match selection. Then I turned off the style and clicked
on the numbering button. It displayed the way it always did with the number
starting at .25" and the indent at .5". It said it was using the List
Paragraph style and when I hovered my mouse over the style it said the style
was defined the way I wanted it but that was not how the number displayed.
--
Judy L

Yes, I know but I have a client who would like to have the standard distance
between the number and the text be .5 in. instead of .25 so that when they
click on the numbering button in the Ribbon, it always starts .5 inches in
and has .5 inches between the number and the text.

 

[Stefan Blom]

You can prevent Word from automatically applying the List Paragraph style to
numbered paragraphs: Click the Office button, and then click Word Options. In
the Advanced category, check the "Use Normal style for bulleted or numbered
lists" and click OK.

But, as Suzanne wrote, using styles with number formatting is the way to
create predictable numbering in Word. For single level numbering, you can use
a style from the List Number series, and you can modify it as needed. For
multilevel numbering, create a list style, whose levels you can attach to
paragraph styles.

To create a list style, click Home tab | Multilevel List | Define New List
Style. Specify a name for the list style, and set its properties via Format,
Numbering; for example, you can attach paragraph styles to each numbering
level. (For more on the Modify Multilevel List dialog box, see
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html.)

Once it has been created, the list style is shown under the "List Styles"
heading at Home tab | Multilevel List. You can apply the style to text by
clicking it, but if you associated it with paragraph styles, it will be
easier to apply the relevant paragraph styles directly to text.

To edit a list style, just right-click its icon and choose Modify from the
context menu. Word displays the Modify Style dialog box.

 

[Office Productivity Consultant]

I understand that using the numbering button is not the best way and I know
how to create all kinds of styles. I really appreciate your help on this. My
client wanted to know if there was a way to change the distance that the
Numbering button used to match their standards. Since most things in Word use
styles, I was hoping that the Numbering button also used one that could be
modified allowing you to modify the distance that all the numbering button
items use.

I'm not quite sure what changing the list numbering to use Normal buys you
other than using that style (like maybe the font?)

Thanks for your help.

 

[Stefan Blom]

"Office Productivity Consultant"

I understand that using the numbering button is not the best way and I know
how to create all kinds of styles. I really appreciate your help on this.
My
client wanted to know if there was a way to change the distance that the
Numbering button used to match their standards. Since most things in Word
use
styles, I was hoping that the Numbering button also used one that could be
modified allowing you to modify the distance that all the numbering button
items use.

Indeed, things would be a lot easier if the Numbering button applied styles,
but it doesn't and it never has, unfortunately.

What you can do is create a macro that applies the desired numbered style,
and attach it to a button on the Quick Access Toolbar. The following is a
simple macro that applies the List Number style to the selected paragraphs:

Sub ApplyTheListNumberStyle()
On Error GoTo errhandler
If Selection.Paragraphs(1).Style.NameLocal = _
ActiveDocument.Styles(wdStyleListNumber).NameLocal Then
Selection.Style = wdStyleNormal
Else
Selection.Style = wdStyleListNumber
End If

Exit Sub

errhandler:
Exit Sub
End Sub

I'm not quite sure what changing the list numbering to use Normal buys you
other than using that style (like maybe the font?)

The advantage of the "Use Normal style for bulleted or numbered lists"
option is that you get more control, since Word never changes the style when
you apply numbering.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

It's unfortunate that it's no longer possible to add a given style directly
to the toolbar, but you can certainly assign a keyboard shortcut to a style.
There are even built-in keyboard shortcuts for some styles, including List
Bullet (Ctrl+Shift+L). Not as obvious as a toolbar button, but just as
effective.