Bullets are infuriatingly inconsistent

Question

I am currently using Word version 2112. I am not completely familiar with all technical terminology, so I may have some difficulty describing my issues.

I have never changed any settings with regards to bullets and have always used the default provided ones. A few days ago, my documents' bullet points have been acting strange out of nowhere.

Here are some pictures of the issues I'm having. Below are explanations.

Issue A: The indentation for the first bullet point and its text are fine, but once I create a new bullet point in another paragraph, that second bullet point and its text are completely off

Issue B: If I go up a level with my bullet and then decide to go back down, the indent for the bullet/text I'm changing gets messed up

Issue C: Randomly, the first bullet point I make in a document may itself also be messed up

Issue D: Similar to Issue A, but this time, once I create the second bullet, the first bullet also becomes messed up for no reason

I have no idea what is going on. I haven't made any changes to anything. I have a single .docx template that I have been using for a long time and it has never had this issue. I've tried transferring the Normal.dotm from my other computer to this one as well as opening and editing documents made prior to the start of this issue, but nothing works.

I would appreciate any assistance. I would try uninstalling and reinstalling, but I do not see an option to uninstall just Word. It looks like I'd have to uninstall the entire 365 suite, which would seriously mess up my Outlook inbox.

[Moderator note: Continue the discussion in the thread at https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/strange-behaviour-of-bullet-indenting-in-word/43f5dfb7-b6f1-46ab-b6ea-9cc00cc5be09. This thread will be locked.]

Answer 1

Same exact issue - it's infuriating and definitely a bug that just started. After using Word for 20 years, never had this issue. Just hoping more people see it, report it, and it gets fixed in a future update.

Answer 2

Not the issue. It's a bug in Word. I use bullets consistently. The behavior of the bullet system has changed in 2112.

The only workaround is to use the "default" bullet, which is the -.

Answer 3

Not the issue. It's a bug in Word. I use bullets consistently. The behavior of the bullet system has changed in 2112.

The only workaround is to use the "default" bullet, which is the -.

The link Suzanne provided is the workaround. It has worked for more than 20 years. Shauna Kelly's methods give stable, predictable bullets and numbering.

This is a user-to-user support forum. The place to report bugs and perhaps have them fixed is through the feedback mechanism. How do I give feedback on Microsoft Office? No one who can fix anything in Word sees what you post here.

Answer 4

To get control of bullets, you must apply bulleted styles linked to levels in the Define New Multilevel List dialog instead of using the Bullets button on the Ribbon. See https://shaunakelly.com/word/bullets/controlbullets20072010.html