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: Using Outline Numbering in a Table.
Greg wondered if it was possible to use outline numbering in a table. He questions this because whenever he presses the Tab key to advance to different bullet tiers (as he does outside of tables), he is instead taken to the next cell in the table.
To answer the question, yes, it is possible to use outline numbering in a table. The problem here is how you are choosing to advance between bullet tiers. The Tab key, in a table, is always used to move from one cell to another. To change indent levels—which gives you the next level of bullets or numbering—you need to press the Increase Indent toolbar button and, conversely, the Decrease Indent toolbar button to return to a higher level.
If you prefer to not use the toolbar buttons, but instead want to use the keyboard, you can change the outline level by using Shift+Alt+Left Arrow or Shift+Alt+Right Arrow. These provide the same functionality as the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent buttons. If, for some reason, you want to actually add a tab character in the text appearing in a cell, you need to press Ctrl+Tab.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (208) 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: Using Outline Numbering in a Table.
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2016-03-29 19:30:41
Farhan Jarif
This is very helpful but is there a way to erase an entire numbered list that is in a table? When I select the numbered list, only the first one gets deleted and the second one becomes a one and so on. Please help me.
2015-04-21 16:02:42
evil
this bothered me for the past 6 years. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to google it. I came to your webpage. I didn't even know an indent button existed in ms word till today. I always saw that symbol on my toolbar but never knew what it did.
Thanks
2014-10-20 14:12:53
dsrtrosy
What about other formatting of bullet points in a table? We can't figure out how to get a bulleted list that ALSO has paragraph spacing before and after. Any thoughts?
2012-07-30 13:23:52
C H
Great tip thanks numbering in tables was driving me potty
2012-05-31 14:51:05
daveshoot
This is a great tip, and works in Word 2010 as well. Thanks!
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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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