the MOST

Back when I was in college, and not particularly computer saavy, the only way I knew how to make a numbered list in Word was to start by typing the number one, a period, a space, and pressing Enter.  Putting bullets on a list?  Forget it. 

As tech trainer, I now know a lot more about makings lists in Word, but when I was reading up on them the other day, I still encountered a few things I didn’t know.  So, I thought that a good series of blog posts could be about bulleted and numbered lists.  Yes, it will be a series, and I will end in a cliffhanger. 

Before we dive in, I’m throwing in a quick tip - remember that bullets imply that the items in the list can be in any order, and numbers or letters specify the order that the items should be in.  So, if you are making a grocery list, bullets are fine.  If you are writing the steps in a process, use numbers or letters. 

Here are the buttons you’ll need to know.  They’re all found in the Paragraph section on the Home tab.

Start the list:
As you may have already noticed, in Microsoft programs, there is usually more than one way to do something.  Here are several ways you can start a bulleted or numbered list.

• Type the list, select it, and click on the Bullets button or Numbering button on the ribbon.
• Click the Bullets button or Numbering button, then start typing.  Every time you press the Enter key, a new line in your list will start.
• Use keyboard shortcuts to start a list.  To make a numbered list type a number, period, and space, or a letter, period, and space, depending on whether you want numbers or letters. To make a bulleted list, type an asterisk and space. (In versions earlier than 2007, your entry will not be turned into a list until you press the Enter key.)

When using the Bullets button and Numbering button on the ribbon, the last style of bullet or numbering you used will be applied.

Stop Automatically Making Lists:

If Word turns text into a numbered list when you didn’t want it to, click on the lightning bolt icon that appears next to the list and click on Undo Automatic Numbering.  If you never want to have Word automatically number your list, click on Stop Automatically Creating Numbered Lists.

But how do you make a multilevel list, like the one at the top of this post?  Tune in next week to find out!