Bullets and numbering

In bulleted lists, each paragraph begins with a bullet character. In numbered lists, each paragraph begins with an expression that includes a number or letter and a separator such as a period or parenthesis. The numbers in a numbered list are updated automatically when you add or remove paragraphs in the list. You can change the type of bullet or numbering style, the separator, the font attributes and character styles, and the type and amount of indent spacing.

You cannot use the Type tool to select the bullets or numbers in a list. Instead, edit their formatting and indent spacing using the Bullets And Numbering dialog box, the Paragraph panel, or the Bullets And Numbering section of the Paragraph Styles dialog box (if the bullets or numbers are part a style).

A quick way to create a bulleted or numbered list is to type the list, select it, and then click the Bulleted List or Numbered List button in the Control panel. These buttons let you turn the list on or off and switch between bullets and numbers. You can also make bullets and numbering part of a paragraph style and construct lists by assigning styles to paragraphs.

Format a bulleted or numbered list

By default, bullets and numbers inherit some of their text formatting from the first character in the paragraph to which they’re attached. If the first character in one paragraph is different from the first characters in other paragraphs, the numbering or bullet character may appear inconsistent with the other list items. If this is not the formatting you desire, create a character style for numbers or bullets and apply it to your list by using the Bullets And Numbering dialog box.

Change bullet characters

If you don’t want to use one of the existing bullet characters, you can add other bullet characters to the Bullet Character grid. A bullet character that is available in one font may not be available in another font. You can choose whether the font is remembered with any bullet character you add.

If you want to use a bullet found in a specific font (such as the pointing hand from Dingbats), be sure to set the bullet to remember that font. If you use a basic bullet character, it’s probably best not to remember the font, because most fonts have their own version of that bullet character. Depending on whether you select the Remember Font With Bullet option, a bullet you add can reference either a Unicode value and a specific font family and style, or just a Unicode value.

Change the bullet character

Add a bullet character

Remove a bullet character

Change numbered list options

In a numbered list, the numbers are updated automatically when you add or remove paragraphs in the list. Paragraphs that are part of the same list are numbered sequentially. These paragraphs do not have to be consecutive to one another as long as you define a list for the paragraphs.

You can also create a multi-level list, in which list items are numbered in outline form and are indented by different degrees.

Define lists

A defined list can be interrupted by other paragraphs and lists, and can span different stories and different documents in a book. For example, use defined lists to create a multi-level outline, or to create a running list of numbered table names throughout your document. You can also define lists for separately numbered or bulleted items that are mixed together. For example, in a list of questions and answers, define one list for numbering the questions and another for numbering the answers.

Defined lists are often used to track paragraphs for numbering purposes. When you create a paragraph style for numbering, you can assign the style to a defined list, and paragraphs are numbered in that style according to where they appear in the defined list. The first paragraph to appear is given number 1 (“Table 1”), for example, and the next paragraph is given number 2 (“Table 2”), even if it appears several pages later. Because both paragraphs belong to the same defined list, they can be numbered consecutively no matter how far apart they are in the document or book.

Define a new list for each type of item you want to number—step-by-step instructions, tables, and figures, for example. By defining multiple lists, you can interrupt one list with another and maintain number sequences in each list.

Define a list

After you define a list, you can use it in a paragraph style, such as a style for tables, figures, or ordered lists, as well as apply it by way of the Control panel and Paragraph panel.

Edit a defined list

Paragraph styles that are assigned to the list are reassigned to the list under its new name.

Delete a defined list

Create a paragraph style for running lists

To create a running list—a list that is interrupted by other paragraphs or that spans multiple stories or documents—create a paragraph style and apply the style to paragraphs that you want to be part of the list. For example, to create a running list of the tables in your document, create a paragraph style called Tables, make a defined list part of the style, and then apply the Tables paragraph style to all paragraphs you want in your Table list.

Create multi-level lists

A multi-level list is a list that describes hierarchical relationships between the list paragraphs. These lists are also called outline lists because they resemble outlines. The list’s numbering scheme (as well as indentations) show rank as well as how items are subordinate to one another. You can tell where each paragraph fits in the list with respect to the paragraphs before and after it. You can include up to nine levels in a multi-level list.

To create a multi-level list, define the list and then create a paragraph style for each level you want. For example, a list with four levels requires four paragraph styles (each one assigned the same defined list). As you create each style, you define its numbering format and paragraph formatting.

In some cases, such as with numbered steps, you may want to restart numbering within the same story. To avoid restarting the numbered list manually, create a separate style that’s identical to the Level 1 style with one exception. For Mode, chose Start At, and then specify 1. Name this style something like “Level 1 Restart.”

Create running captions for figures and tables

Running captions number figures, tables, and other items consecutively in a document. For example, the first figure caption starts with the words “Figure 1,” the second with “Figure 2,” and so on. To make sure that figures, tables, or similar items are numbered consecutively, define a list for the item, and then create a paragraph style that includes the list definition. You can also add descriptive words such as “Figure” or “Table” to the numbering scheme of the paragraph style.

After you create the style, apply it to text figure captions or table titles.

Restart or continue numbering for a list

InDesign offers commands for restarting a list and continuing a list:

Place the insertion point in the paragraph and choose Restart Numbering from the context menu or choose Type > Bulleted And Numbered Lists > Restart Numbering. In normal lists, this command assigns the number 1 (or letter A) to a paragraph and makes it the first paragraph in a list. In multi-level lists, this command assigns the first lower-level number to a nested paragraph.

Choose Continue Numbering from the context menu or choose Type > Bulleted And Numbered Lists > Continue Numbering. This command resumes numbering a list that was interrupted by commentary, graphics, or nested list items. InDesign also offers commands for numbering lists that begin in one story or book and cross into the next story or book.

Number a list from the previous or current story

Whether a list resumes numbering from the previous story or starts numbering anew in the current story depends on how the list is defined.

Number a list from the previous or current document in a book

Whether a list resumes numbering from the previous document in a book or starts numbering anew in the current document depends on how the list is defined.

Convert list bullets or numbers to text