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: Combining First and Second Numbered Levels on One Paragraph.

Combining First and Second Numbered Levels on One Paragraph

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 9, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


4

Alan uses the numbering feature in Word to create two-level paragraph numbering. He would like to create a numbering system that combines the first and second levels in the same paragraph so that the numbering appears as 1. a) and then the second paragraph as b), then c), and so on. He wonders how to accomplish this.

The bullets and numbering feature in Word allows you to automatically create numbered paragraphs where you can specify the format for the numbering, 1. 2. 3., or a. b. c. The Outline tab in the Bullets and Numbering dialog box makes this easy. Creating a custom outline can be done in several different ways. We'll discuss a couple of them. Each option assumes that you have not yet entered any text and that you are beginning with a clean, blank document.

Your first option requires making some changes in the Outline Numbering dialog box.

  1. Place the insertion point where you want to begin paragraph 1.
  2. Type 1. (that's the number one followed by a period).
  3. Press the Tab key.
  4. Type a) (that's the lowercase letter 'a' followed by a right parenthesis).
  5. Press Enter.
  6. Choose Bullets and Numbering from the Format menu. Word displays the Bullets and Numbering dialog box.
  7. Click on the Outline Numbered tab.
  8. Click on the outline option to the right of the None box. (See Figure 1.)
  9. Figure 1. The Outline Numbered tab of the Bullets and Numbering dialog box.

  10. Click on Customize. Word displays the Customize Outline Numbered List dialog box.
  11. Select Level 1.
  12. Select the desired numbering style, in this case a, b, c, from the Number Style drop-down list.
  13. Select the letter or number to start with in the Start At field, in this case letter b.
  14. Click OK and OK. Word closes the dialog boxes and inserts b) in the document.
  15. Press Tab. The b) moves in line with the a) in the previous paragraph.
  • From here you can enter the text you want in the paragraph. When you press Enter, the next level of the outline will appear, in this case, c). Note: When you have finished the outline level for your first number, you will need to repeat these steps for the next section. To do this, just place the insertion point in the document where you will begin your second section (number 2) and repeat the steps.
  • You probably noticed that this option is based on having a brand new document. This is because in Word numbered lists are extremely "automated." For instance, if you have a numbered list on page 2 and then insert another list on page 10 that is not related to the first one, Word does not know that they are not the same and will automatically insert the numbers as if they are one list. This can cause all sorts of problems that can, if left unchecked, mess up your document entirely.
  • Another option, if you want to avoid the automated aspects of numbered lists in Word, is to use the SEQ field. You could use SEQ fields for all of the numbering, or for one level and use the auto numbering feature for the other. You can create the SEQ fields using the menus. However, in this case it is much more cumbersome than it needs to be. Here is how to accomplish the task more quickly. In this case, we are assuming that the text is already in the document and just needs to be numbered.

    1. Place the insertion point in the document where you would like the numbering to appear.
    2. Press Ctrl+F9. Word inserts a pair of field braces.
    3. Inside the braces type the following: SEQ \* alphabetic \* MERGEFORMAT a
    4. Press F9. The letter a appears.

    You can enter this field for each new paragraph that needs the numbering. Word keeps track of which letter comes next and will insert the correct one, assuming you are numbering your paragraphs in alphabetical order.

    WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8094) 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: Combining First and Second Numbered Levels on One Paragraph.

    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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    Comments

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    What is 6 - 0?

    2023-08-18 22:06:31

    Jaymol

    Hae. How do i perform the following type of multilevel numbering in my MS Word document?
    1 (a).
    (b).
    (i).
    (ii).
    (c).
    d).

    2 (a).
    (b).

    Please assist. Thank you.
    Jaymol - Kenya


    2017-05-02 19:24:04

    Allen

    Jordan: I'm not sure how much more "up front" the description of versions can be. See the bolded, colored "Note" at the very beginning of the article. It explains versions and provides a link to an article for later versions of the program.

    -Allen


    2017-05-02 09:36:33

    Jordan

    Not well written. This doesn't describe what version of Word this is for and none of the steps make sense in ribbon mode so I assume this isn't up to date for Word 2010+ or 365, which is what I am using.

    Also, there's no final screenshot of how this is supposed to look at the end, so I am not quite sure if this is even what I am trying to get Word to do.


    2016-10-29 11:11:46

    Abdul Basit

    i want to create following.
    1.some sentence here.
    a) first option b)second option
    c) third option d)fourth option
    how to create it in ms word 2013?


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