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: Applying Numbers from the Keyboard.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 13, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Word makes it just as easy to create and destroy numbered lists as it does to work with bulleted lists. All you need to do is click on the Numbering tool to convert a paragraph to a numbered item, and click on it again to remove the number. There is no keyboard equivalent for this tool, but you can create one. This involves the use of the Customize Keyboard dialog box:
Figure 1. The Customize Keyboard dialog box.
Now, whenever you press the keystroke you chose in step 6, it is the same as clicking on the Numbering tool. Press the keystroke again, and the numbers are gone. You can also press Ctrl+Q to remove any paragraph numbering.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (88) 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: Applying Numbers from the Keyboard.
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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:
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