Bullets shift on SharePoint with multiple users in the document

Question

I have a template attached to the word doc. And when multiple people are in the document with the template attached all of the bullets shift over for no reason. Is there a fix to this? My only fix is to attach/deattach the template. But if someone comes back in the document online the bullets move again.

Answer 1

Microsoft has confirmed that there are issues with numbered lists and styles in online documents, especially if you are co-authoring. Some of these issues, but not all of them, should be fixed soon, according to the Office team.

Answer 2

1. Bullets/numbering in documents edited in the Word Online version get messed up. There are numerous reports of this and if the same documents are only edited in the desktop version, it does not happen.
2. You are best off following Shauna Kelly's advice on Bullets and Numbering in Word.

• How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in Ribbon Versions of Word by Shauna Kelly
• How to control bullets in Ribbon Versions of Word by Shauna Kelly

That is, attaching a separate existing paragraph style to each level and using the style to assign the level in the document. For large documents you must follow these directions or you will lose your hair!
(Mac version: https://www.brandwares.com/bestpractices/2016/06/outline-numbering-in-word-for-os-x/)

This may seem a bit convoluted at first, but it really is not. Just follow the steps. Shauna Kelly's instructions use the built-in heading styles, but you can use any existing paragraph styles including your custom styles. There are, however advantages to using the built-in heading styles when you create a Table of Contents. Here are some more advantages: Why Use Word's Built-In Heading Styles? by Shauna Kelly Note, you can modify these built-in styles to look exactly the way you want.

If you want, I can provide links to videos demonstrating setting up numbering linked to styles.

The basic idea is that the numbering is set using the Define MultiLevel List dialog with each numbering level being attached to an existing paragraph style. Once you have this set up, you should not use the buttons for numbering in the Ribbon but rather apply the appropriate style for that level.

You can save a document with this as a template for future documents if you want so you will not need to do this every time.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, no, I haven't seen any recent updates on this.

Answer 4

Bullets are left aligned to the margins. When multiple people enter the doc in the application The bullets all shift over about 0.5 in space.

Answer 5

Dear Mcell,

Good day! Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

Regarding "And when multiple people are in the document with the template attached all of the bullets shift over for no reason.", could you upload some related screenshots for our confirmation?

Note: Remove any private information before uploading the screenshots.

If other users and you are opening the file with the Word applications at the same time, will the issue occur?

Welcome to share any updates when you have time.

Sincerely,

Cliff | Microsoft Community Moderator