You can customize the appearance of a list by defining your own numbered, bulleted, and multilevel lists. Once you customize them, you can save those settings as a style and use it again and again.
What would you like to do?
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Define a new bullet format
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Define a new number format
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Define a new multilevel list
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Define a new list style
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Turn off automatic numbering for lists
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Related information
Define a new bullet
Do any of the following:
Change the bullet to a symbol
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Select the text or bulleted list you want to change.
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On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow next to Bulleted List
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Click Symbol and then click the symbol you want to use.
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Click OK.
Change a bullet to a picture
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Select the text or bulleted list you want to change.
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On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow next to Bulleted List
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Click Picture and then browse for your picture from a file or Bing Image Search.
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Click Insert.
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Review what the picture bullets will look like and click OK to add it or change the picture by repeating steps 3-5.
Change the bullet font
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Select the text or bulleted list you want to change.
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On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow next to Bulleted List
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Click Font and then change the font properties to be used for the bullet. You can choose settings on the Font tab or Advanced tab:
| Tab | Description |
|---|---|
| Font tab | Change the bullet font, style, size, color, underline style, underline color, and effects. |
| Advanced tab | Change the bullet font character spacing and OpenType features. |
Change the bullet alignment
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Select the text or bulleted list you want to change.
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On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow next to Bulleted List
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Under alignment, choose Left, Centered, or Right.
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Click OK.
Define a new number format
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Select the text or numbered list you want to change.
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On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow next to Numbered List
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To change the style, click the down arrow next to Number style and choose numbers, letters, or another chronological format.
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To change the font size, style, and color, click Font and choose a setting on the Font tab or Advanced tab:.
Tab
Description
Font tab
Change the bullet font, style, size, color, underline style, underline color, and effects.
Advanced tab
Change the bullet font character spacing and OpenType features.
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To append the numbering with a dash, parentheses, or another value, enter it in the Number format field.
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To change the number alignment, choose Left, Centered, or Right under Alignment.
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Click OK.
Define a new multilevel list
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Select the text or numbered list you want to change.
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On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow next to Multilevel List
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Expand the Multilevel list dialog box by clicking More in the lower left corner.
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Choose the list level to modify by selecting it in the list. 1 is selected by default.
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Choose where you would like to apply your changes by clicking Whole list, This point forward, or Current paragraph.
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To use an existing style in Word for each level in the list, choose a style under Link level to style.
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Choose the number to show in the gallery. Level 1 is shown by default.
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Give the multilevel list a name in the ListNum field list name. This name will appear wherever you see the Listnum field.
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To append the numbered list with a dash, parentheses, or another value, enter it in the Number format field.
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To change the font size, style, and color, click Font and choose a setting on the Font tab or Advanced tab:.
Tab
Description
Font tab
Change the bullet font, style, size, color, underline style, underline color, and effects.
Advanced tab
Change the bullet font character spacing and OpenType features.
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To change the style, click the down arrow next to Number style and choose numbers, letters, or another chronological format. Specify a level number to include this from.
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Choose the number to start the list at. The default value is 1. To restart numbering after a specific level, select the Restart List After check box and choose a level in the list.
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Select Legal Style Numbering to enforce a legal style on the multilevel list.
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To change the number alignment, choose Left, Centered, or Right under Alignment
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Specify a value for where to start the alignment and a value for the text indent.
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To apply these values to the entire list, choose Set for All Levels.
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Enter a value for what should follow each number, Tab character, Space, or Nothing. Check Add tab stop at and enter a value.
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Click OK.
Define a new list style
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Select the text or numbered list you want to change.
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On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow next to Multilevel List
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Specify a name for your new list style.
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Choose the number to start the list at. The default value is 1.
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Choose a level in the list to apply your formatting.
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Specify the font face, size, and color for the list style.
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Change the down arrow to change the style of the numbered list or bulleted list.
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Choose a symbol for the list.
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Choose an image for the list.
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Choose to move the indent to the left or the right.
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Choose to apply these changes to Only in this document or New documents based on this template.
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To change more formatting settings, click Format and choose Font, Numbering, Text effects, and so forth.
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Click OK.
Turn off automatic numbering for lists
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Use one of the following methods, as appropriate for the version of Word you're using:
Word 2016, Word 2013, or Word 2010
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Select File, and then from the left pane, select Options.
Word 2007
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Click the Microsoft Office button, and then select Word Options.
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In the Word Options dialog, in the left pane, select Proofing.
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In the right pane, under AutoCorrect options, select AutoCorrect Options.
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Select the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
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Under Apply as you type, clear the Automatic numbered lists check box, and then select OK.
Related information
Change the indent between a bullet or number and text in a list
Change the numbering in a numbered list
