Word "thinks" in terms of lists of nine levels. Even when you only have a simple, one-level list, Word has eight other levels stored off-stage. It's these additional levels that come into play when you indent a numbered entry and the number format changes (whether by using tab or the Increase Indent button).
Several changes that we made in Word 2007 make it easier to work with complex, multilevel lists. One thing that we changed was the way in which the Enter key works when you're working with a list. If you've gone several levels into a list, pressing Enter moves you out one level at a time. So if you've started a list at 1),
Microsoft Office Home And Business 2010, pressed tab on the next line to go to a., and then tabbed again on the third line so that you're at i., when you press Enter, to end that line,
Buy Windows 7, you'll get ii. as in previous versions. But what's different is that when you press Enter again, you'll get b. (moving out one level) rather than jumping all the way to the margin. (You can use backspace to get to the margin quickly if you desire.) <video>
The Multilevel List ############## The other significant change is that there is now a third button relating to bullets and numbering—the multilevel list button. This button allows you to change the formatting of all of the items in your list at one time. Each level of a list can have either a bullet or a number so the multilevel ############## has both types of lists in a single location. Selecting from this ############## ensures that your entire list is formatted correctly,
Office Professional Plus 2007, which in turn makes the list more predictable.
When creating new lists, I recommend using list styles rather than multilevel lists (formerly known as Outline Lists) because while both share the same functionality, list styles have the added advantage that they can be named and then modified. When you edit a multilevel list, Word creates a copy of the original list and makes the changes to that copy. Also, list styles provide two levels of UI—the initial simple UI that lets you create basic lists and then a more advanced UI (accessible via the Numbering command on the Format menu of the dialog) that lets you access the full richness of Word numbering. When you open a document with existing list styles or create one in your current document, a new section is added to the ############## that contains only the lists styles of that document.
Using style-based lists One of the most powerful numbering features within Word is the ability to associate the numbering structure of a list with paragraph styles. Lists that have style associates can be identified by the fact that the preview contains the style names as text (as in the last four examples in the figure).
The four style-based lists are all associated with the defaulting Heading styles included with Word. When you select one of these lists, the definition of the paragraph style for each heading is updated and all of the headings in your document are numbered sequentially. One of the advantages to associating paragraph styles with levels of your list is that you can then shift among the styles by promoting or demoting within the list. For example, with one of the Heading-based lists, demoting a Heading 1 changes it to a Heading 2 and updates the numbering throughout your document. Note that while you can manually change the numbering (for example, restarting the numbering at a particularly heading),
Windows 7 Home Premium, those changes will be lost if you update the paragraph style.
When good levels go bad One problem that people encounter with their lists is that moving between levels starts to behave strangely in terms of where it positions each list. Indenting an item may cause it to jump too far or the format of the number or bullet doesn't match up with the others at that level. Here's where a little knowledge comes in handy. The "level" of a list entry determines the format. By default,
Microsoft Office Home And Stude/nt 2010, the indent is associated with an indent position but you can change the indent independently. And that's where the trouble can start.
Imagine that you want a list that is numbered a., b., c., and so on. The easiest way to create such is list is to simply type the a. and let Word recognize the format. But imagine that you've already got a list with the 1) format that you want to change. You could use the numbering ############## to change the format of this existing list—selecting each level of the list and changing them independently. Both of these methods will give you a top-level list numbered the way you want. And both of these are good solutions.
Unfortunately, you can also start a list with a temporary 1. entry, go to a new line, and then tab in one level to get the a. format you want. Then you can use the ruler to move that number back out to line up where you want and go back and delete the 1. Don't laugh. I see documents with lists that behave as if they were created this way all the time though actually more often with bullets than numbers. The problem with this approach that now you have a second-level list that looks like a top-level list.
The list looks fine and for the most part works OK. But if you then indent from that point, you'll jump over to where the third-level should be and your lists will look very strange indeed. Word 2007 provides a way of checking the level of any numbering and to change it to the proper level; just select the desired level from the Change List Level command at the bottom of any of the three list ################## (Bullets, Numbering, or Multilevel Lists).
For more about working with lists, I suggest you check out the training course created for Office Online.
- Stuart J Stuple
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