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How can I edit the EXISTING MS Word numbered styles to adjust the indentation?

Anonymous
2023-04-05T21:44:49+00:00

I've tried repeatedly to Modify MS Word Numbered List styles to reduce the indentation, but "strange things always happen".

Today, I went through the same cycle 2 to 3 times with the same symptom.

  1. I started to modify a style, beginning with "level 2".
  2. In the "Modify Style" dialog, I changed "Apply formatting to:" to point to "2nd Level"
  3. When I selected "Numbering..." from the "Format" button, I was presented with "Modify Multilevel list".
  4. I was surprised to see that level 1 was selected, even though I had selected "2nd Level" in the first dialog
  5. I selected Level 2 in the "Modify Multilevel list" dialog
  6. I made my changes to "Aligned at: and "Text indent at:", in both cases reducing the indentation by .25"
  7. When I press OK, then OK, the paragraph is now shown with the Level 1 numbering instead of the Level 2 numbering
  8. When I try to increase or decrease the indentation using the "increase indent" and "decrease indent" buttons, the paragraph shows me ONLY the top-level number (in this case, "1" (one)), even though it moves left and right.

I also tried "Set for All Levels..." on a different attempt, but it also did not work.

I was only able to adjust my document by adjusting the indentation of individual paragraphs.

I showed "Numbering Styles" in the style box, and modified the Numbering style shown. I matched the paragraph on-screen to the style by using "Select (n) paragraphs" by trial and error until it selected the paragraphs I wanted to change.

Please advise on the correct steps to modify "Numbering" styles to change their indentation.

My version shows as "Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2016",

Version 2302 (Build 16130.20332 Click-to-Run)

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Stefan Blom 339.2K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2023-04-05T23:48:48+00:00

    Click in the very first level 1 paragraph of the list. Then click Home tab > Paragraph group > Multilevel List > Define New Multilevel List. This will present you with the multilevel list dialog box from where you can define all aspects, including indentation, for each level of the list.

    The safest approach is to use multilevel numbering with paragraph styles—one style per numbering level. See https://shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/numbering20072010.html.

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  2. John Korchok 231.5K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-04-05T23:58:57+00:00

    As Stefan implies, you don't want to be modifying the default Microsoft styles. Their defaults will keep reappearing. Instead, you want to create your own list style.

    Here's a page that has a sure-fire method for creating list styles that work as you expect: How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in Word. The example page uses the built-in heading styles, but you can actually use any collection of styles in a list style.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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