Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Continuing Your Numbering.

Continuing Your Numbering

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 15, 2018)

You can take advantage of a nifty Word feature that allows you to easily pick up numbering where you previously left off. This is great for numbered lists that are interspersed with paragraphs that have a different format. In general, the feature is accessed as follows:

Enter the first portion of your numbered list and format it. For example, if your list has 17 items, and there is a heading after item 4, then you would enter the first four items in the numbered list.
Enter the heading or paragraph that interrupts the list.
Enter the rest of your numbered list and format it. The list should begin with 1 again.
Right-click on the first paragraph after the list interruption. A Context menu appears.
Choose Bullets and Numbering from the Context menu. Word displays the Bullets and Numbering dialog box, with the Numbered tab selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Numbered tab of the Bullets and Numbering dialog box.

Choose Continue Previous List at the bottom of the dialog box.
Click on OK. The dialog box disappears and the list numbering is modified.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (53) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Continuing Your Numbering.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing the Color of Worksheet Gridlines

Want the gridlines in your worksheet to be a different color? You aren't limited to stodgy black; Excel lets you make ...

Discover More

Page Ranges in a TOC

It is easy to generate a table of contents for a document, and that TOC can contain page number references for each ...

Discover More

F4 No Longer Changes Cell References

Excel has a wide variety of keyboard shortcuts that can help make it easier to use the program. When one of those ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Increasing Space between Numbers and Text in a List

You can easily create numbered lists in your document. Most versions of Word even allow you to modify the distance ...

Discover More

Ensuring Standardized Numbering

Want to make sure your paragraph numbering looks the same on different computer systems? It's a harder task in Word than ...

Discover More

Changing the Types of Numbers in a Numbered List

Ever want to change the types of numbers that Word displays when you create a numbered list? There are several numbering ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is five minus 2?

2020-07-16 09:51:59

PSA

It doesn't always work. That's why we are reading this.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.