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: Removing a List.

Removing a List

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 2, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


There may be times when you want to remove the list formatting you previously applied to some of your text. For instance, you may have a numbered list that you want to reformat as regular text. Word provides an easy way for you to remove list formatting:

  1. Select the list items you want to no longer be a part of the list. It doesn't matter if it is a numbered or bulleted list.
  2. If the list is a numbered list, click on the Numbering tool on the toolbar.
  3. If the list is a bulleted list, click on the Bullets tool on the toolbar.

If you remove the bullets or numbering from only a portion of the list, the remainder of the list maintains the list formatting. If required, Word adjusts the numbering on any remaining part of a numbered list.

Word does provide another way you can remove a list: All you need to do is select the paragraphs you want to affect and then press Ctrl+Q. This shortcut returns the paragraph formatting to whatever is defined by the underlying style applied to the paragraphs.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1252) 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: Removing a List.

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. ...

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