Problems formatting numbered lists in Word

Question

I'm running into a problem with the formatting of numbered lists in Word. I've put together a solution - some of it based on advice I've found here. I'll detail my solution below. My question is: is there not an easier way to do this? This seems like a very complex solution to what isn't a terribly complex problem.

Here's what I'm running into: When I create a numbered list using the numbered list option under Paragraph on the Home tab, if that list goes into two-digit numbers (10 and above), the spacing becomes irregular for numbers 10 and above. That is, there is a large gap between the two-digit numbers and the list item text. (See screenshot 1)

I can correct for this by selecting ‘Define New Number Format’ and selecting ‘Right’ under Alignment. This gets rid of the huge gap next to the two-digit numbers. However, this results in abnormal indents and spaces that I want to correct. (See screenshot 2)

I’m able to do this under ‘Paragraph’ settings by changing Left Indentation to 0.25 and setting ‘Special’ to ‘Hanging’ and ‘By’ to ‘0.05.’’’ This produces more normalized spacing. (See screenshot 3)

I updated my ‘Numbered List’ Style with these settings so I wouldn’t have to repeat all these steps each time. However, the next list I create with this style applied continues numbering with '11.' (See screenshot 4)

When I select the ‘Restart at 1’ option, my numbering resets, but the spacing is always wrong for the first item, with a big indent for the number '1' and a big space before the list item text. (See screenshot 5)

I can correct this by going into paragraph styles again and resetting the Left Indentation and Hanging Indentation, but this means that updating my numbered list style was effectively useless, because I will have to reset the styles each time for this first item.

Why is it so complex to make a numbered list with more than 10 items that has normal, predictable spacing? Is there a setting that I’m not aware of that could make this process easier?

Answer 1

Yes, I had seen this article - you'll notice I incorporated some of these tips into my solution above (such as right alignment of numbers). One thing that I don't see in this article or anywhere else is how to deal with the problem that occurs at the very end of my post - when I modify the numbered list style to incorporate my fixes, I end up with incorrect spacing in the first numbered item in each newly created list. This has to be fixed manually each time. Is there anyway around this?

Also, a larger question, why is this not an issue that Microsoft fixed decades ago? I understand that there are work arounds / solutions but they are quite complex for the average user. Heck, they're complex for the power user. This is simply a list with 10 or more items we're trying to create - it shouldn't be rocket science to make it look non-terrible.

Answer 2

For help with number alignment (in Word, the topic of this forum), see http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/NumberAlignment2007.htm

When you convert a Word document to PDF, the alignment should be preserved.

Answer 3

In your original post, you mention the Paragraph dialog box and its indent settings. For a numbered or bulleted list, you need to use Adjust List Indents as detailed in Suzanne's article at http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/NumberAlignment2007.htm or the indentation will "break."