Numbered Lists - Restart Numbering

[Helen]

Hello,

Can someone please help me? I'm wondering why everytime I apply the List
Number style, I have to restart the numbering (right-click>restart numbering).

Thank you.

Hélène

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi Helen,

Can someone please help me? I'm wondering why everytime I apply the List
Number style, I have to restart the numbering (right-click>restart numbering).

To put it succinctly: that's how it's been designed to work. The theory being,
if you're re-using the style, you want to continue the list (by default).

The only really reliable way to force this is to define the list style a bit
differently. Don't assign a number to Level 1; start the numbering with Level 2.
Set Level 2 to always begin renumbering after a Level 1 paragraph.

Link Level 1 to a paragraph style you know will be used between each separate
list.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or reply
in the newsgroup and not by e-mail

 

[writer12]

My documents are based on styles that I did not create. In all of the
documents, the list restarts numbering as it should. I cannot get the lists
to restart numbering in the latest doc, which is a copy of another doc, even
using all of your suggestions. Even when I manually restart the lists (72 of
them!), it reverts even tho templates are not set to automatically update.
What else can I try?

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hat's either Tools>Templates and Add-Ins>Attach... Automatically update
styles on open, or the list template has not been correctly associated with
the styles you are using.

Read Shauna Kelly's website, and remember that a list template is not a
style, and it is not part of a style, it's a separate list description. It
can be associated with a style, and it behaves a little like a style: but
there's one of each in play in each list.

My documents are based on styles that I did not create. In all of the
documents, the list restarts numbering as it should. I cannot get the lists
to restart numbering in the latest doc, which is a copy of another doc, even
using all of your suggestions. Even when I manually restart the lists (72 of
them!), it reverts even tho templates are not set to automatically update.
What else can I try?

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Business Analyst, Consultant
Technical Writer.
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[Robin Clay]

, 2/16/2007 10:59 PM PST :

Yeah, I know - that WAS a while ago !

Hat's either Tools>Templates and Add-Ins>Attach... Automatically update
styles on open, or the list template has not been correctly associated with
the styles you are using.

Read Shauna Kelly's website,

Huh ?

and remember that a list template is not a
style, and it is not part of a style, it's a separate list description. It
can be associated with a style, and it behaves a little like a style: but
there's one of each in play in each list.

Huh ?

 

[Ember]

How do I do this:
"The only really reliable way to force this is to define the list style a
bit differently. Don't assign a number to Level 1; start the numbering with
Level 2. Set Level 2 to always begin renumbering after a Level 1 paragraph."

Thanks!

 

[Stefan Blom]

Just make sure to set up your multilevel list with the numbering set to
"(none)" for level 1. It can still restart level 2 paragraphs.

 

[Ember]

Thanks! After I posted this question I did some more searching and found
steps on how to do this. What threw me was the fact that I am not creating a
multilevel list (ours is a simple 1., 2., 3.; sometimes with a 1.a. etc). I
did not realize how you can modify "level 1" of a multilist to not be a
number but regular paragraph formatting.

Ember

 

[Stefan Blom]

You are welcome.

Indeed, making use of a multilevel (outline) list is the easiest method to
restart numbering. (This and two more methods are described at
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/numbering/listrestartmethods.htm.)

 

[Ember]

Thanks, I had read that article (and others at that site) but none made sense
at the time. They do, at least a little bit, now make sense. Other issue is
that I am working on Word 2007...different world.

Ember

 

[Stefan Blom]

As you've noticed, Word 2007 no longer allows you to go via the Modify Style
dialog box when you want to modify outline/multilevel numbering (unless you
are using a list style). However, the general principle remains the same in
Word 2007: numbering should be style-based for stability reasons.

To edit an existing outline-numbered list: Place the insertion point in the
first top-level paragraph of the document (for example, in the first Heading
1 paragraph if this is heading numbering). On the Home tab, click Multilevel
List | Define New Multilevel List. This displays a dialog box similar to the
Customize Outline Numbered dialog box of previous versions (see
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html for a
description of the options).

On the other hand, if you want to create a new outline-numbered list in Word
2007, you should set it up using list styles. On the Home tab, click
Multilevel List, and then click Define New List Style. In the Modify Style
dialog box, type a name for the list style. To define the numbering
properties, click the Format button, and then click Numbering; this displays
the Modify Multilevel List dialog box, where you can change the number
format, indentation, attach paragraph styles to the numbering levels, etc.

The list styles of the active document are displayed under "List Styles" at
Home tab | Multilevel List. You can click a style to apply it to text, but
if you've attached numbering to paragraph styles, you'll find it easier to
apply the appropriate paragraph style directly. To edit a list style,
right-click it and choose Modify from the context menu.

 

[Ember]

I did that, however it now is changing the indentation of my level 3 (linked
to style Heading 3) to match the indentation of level 4 (linked to style List
Number).

It does nothing to the indentation of level 1 (linked to Heading 1) and
level 2 (linked to Heading 2).

 

[Stefan Blom]

In the multilevel list dialog box, have you tried changing the
indentation settings for the affected level(s)? You'll find those
options under "Position," but note that you may have to click the
More button to see all options.

 

[Ember]

Yep, I set those to be 0" as they should be justifed left to the page margin.

Ember

 

[Stefan Blom]

Which value did you set to zero? "Text indent at" or "Aligned at" or both?

What is the setting for "Follow number with"?

In particular, note that if "Text indent at" is set to zero, you should
definitely check "Add tab stop at" and specify an appropriate value.
Alternatively, skip the tab stop and choose "Space" (or "Nothing") for
"Follow number with."

 

[Ember]

For levels 1 - 3, Aligned at is set to 0"; Text Indent is set to 0"; Follow
number with is "Tab Character" but "Add Tab Stop At" is not checked.

Why would I add a tab stop when I want the headings to be justifed left to
the margin (meaning no tab)? Currently it is adding a tab stop even though
the settings are all set to 0" and add a tab stop is not checked.

Doesn't make sense to add a tab stop to remove a tab stop...

 

[Ember]

After posting I tried adding a tab stop set to 0" and that seems to have
worked! I was amazed, but realized something. (Most of you probably already
knew this, but...)

When using a multilevel list in which you tell it to not use a leading
number or letter, that doesn't mean that the list "forgets" that the
number/letter is not there...it just doesn't show it. Therefore, when
formatting, you need to remember that even though you don't see the
number/letter the formatting for it still is.

Meaning, I assumed that by simply telling it not to show a number/letter
that "normal" paragraph formatting would take over. Not so...All it did was
not show the number/letter it would have normally. Therefore I had to tell
it where to put its "natural" tab stop so that the text would line up where I
wanted it to.

Hope that makes sense to someone else, but I feel like I have just learned
something major!

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[Stefan Blom]

If this is an un-numbered level of the list, it will be easier to choose
"Nothing" for "Follow number with" than to set a tab stop at the left
margin.