Formatting Numbered/Bulleted Lists

Numbered or bulleted lists are usually formatted with hanging indentation. This means that the first line is not indented, but subsequent lines are indented. For a numbered or bulleted list, the first line would begin at the left margin with the number or bullet followed by a tab and then text. Subsequent lines would be indented to the first tab setting. The indentation settings and tab settings can be seen on the ruler.

The indentation for a numbered or bulleted list can be set in several ways as described below. Whenever you use any of these methods to change the indentation, you should place your cursor in the paragraph where the change in indentation should take place. The change will take place at the beginning of the paragraph. At any time, you can place your cursor in any paragraph and look at the ruler to see the indentation and the tab settings that are in effect for that paragraph. At the end of a numbered/bulleted list you will need to change the indentation back to normal indentation.

The following methods can be used to change the indentation for a numbered or bulleted list and to return to normal indentation:

Toolbar buttons: Click the Indent button to indent to the next tab stop. If the cursor is on a paragraph that includes a tab in the first line, then pressing this button will produce a hanging indent as shown in the screen shot above. Otherwise, pressing this button will fully indent the paragraph and all following paragraphs to the first tab. Click the Indent button again to indent to the next tab stop. Click the Outdent button to move the paragraph back by one tab.

Keyboard shortcuts: Click Ctrl+Alt+Tab to indent to the next tab stop. If the cursor is on a paragraph that includes a tab in the first line, then pressing this button will produce a hanging indent as shown in the screen shot above. Otherwise, pressing this button will fully indent the paragraph and all following paragraphs to the first tab. Click Ctrl+Alt+Tab again to indent to the next tab stop. Click Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Tab to move the paragraph back by one tab.

Ruler: Three triangular pointers on the ruler indicate the indentation that is in effect at the position of the cursor. The top left pointer shows the indentation of the first line in a paragraph, the bottom left pointer shows the indentation of all subsequent lines and the right pointer shows the indentation from the right margin of all lines. You can drag the pointers to a new position. To do this, move your mouse pointer to one of the pointers on the ruler. When the mouse is correctly positioned on top of the pointer, it will assume the shape of a double headed arrow. Hold the left mouse button down while you use the mouse to move the pointer to a new position. Then release the mouse button. The change will take effect at the beginning of the paragraph where the cursor is. Active tab settings are also shown on the ruler. See Ruler.

Menu: Click Format, Paragraph and use the Paragraph Settings dialog to make changes to the indentation. At the end of the numbered or bulleted list click Format, Paragraph again and use the Paragraph Settings dialog to return to normal indentation.

Action Line: The IP command (Indent Paragraph) is used to change the indentation. Press F9 to access the action line. Then type the following command: IP x,y,z where x = the indentation of the first line from the left margin, y = the indentation of all subsequent lines from the left margin and z = the indentation of all lines from the right margin. For example, you would use the following command to create the indentation shown in the screen shot above: IP 0,.3,0 All measurements are in inches unless you have changed the system defaults or unless you specify a different unit of measurement. See Units of Measurement.