A great way to provide information clearly is to present it in a numbered or bulleted list. Not only does Word add numbers or bullets to your list, with consistent spacing between the number or bullet and the text, but it keeps track of your list so that if you move an item within a numbered list, Word will renumber the list to keep the items in the correct order. You can also have the numbering skip paragraphs and can even split a list by restarting a series at 1.

Create the List

1. Start typing the first line of your list. Make sure you’re using the paragraph style you want for the list.

2. On the Home tab, click the Numbering button for a numbered list or the Bullets button for a bulleted list.

3. After completing the first line, press Enter to start the second list item.

4. When you’ve completed the list, press Enter twice to create an empty paragraph and to turn off the list formatting.

   
   

Tip

Sometimes, between the items in a numbered list, you need to insert unnumbered paragraphs that aren’t part of the list. To restart numbering, right-click the paragraph following the unnumbered paragraph, and click either Restart Numbering or Continue Numbering.

Tip

To create a multi-level list, press the Tab key to indent and demote an item in the list, or press Shift+Tab to promote the item.