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: Lining Up Numbered List Numbers.

Lining Up Numbered List Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 9, 2017)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

You already know how to create a numbered list using the built-in tools provided by Word. If you create a numbered list that has more than nine items in it, you may notice that your numbers for each item do not line up properly. For instance, the numbers are not lined up on the decimal point, as you might expect. This condition is easy enough to fix; follow these steps:

Select all of the items in the numbered list.
Choose Bullets and Numbering from the Format menu. Word displays the Bullets and Numbering dialog box with the Numbered tab selected. In addition, the numbering style applied to your selection is also highlighted. (See Figure 1.)

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

Click your mouse on Customize. Word displays the Customize Numbered List dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Customize Numbered List dialog box.

Change the Number Position drop-down list to Right.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1826) 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: Lining Up Numbered List Numbers.

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

Including Text Box Text in Word Counts

If you use text boxes in the layout of your documents, you should know that any word counts you perform do not include ...

Discover More

Unwanted Data Changes

The AutoCorrect feature in Excel can change some of your data in ways you don't like. If you discover this is happening, ...

Discover More

Removing Pictures for a Worksheet in VBA

Excel allows you to add pictures to your worksheet, even within a macro. However, you might have a bit harder time ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Stubborn Highlighting

When you make extensive edits to a document and those edits include changing the formatting of numbered or bulleted ...

Discover More

Continuing Your Numbering

If you have a couple of numbered lists separated by regular text paragraphs, you might want the secondary lists to be ...

Discover More

Problems Using Words as Bullets

If you know the secret, you can use actual words as "bullets" in a bulleted list. The built-in bulleted lists in Word ...

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 nine minus 1?

2017-12-09 19:15:48

Kat Crawford

Had no idea how to align the number lists. Thank you for this wonderful tip. I'm sharing your word.tips.net with other writers:)

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.