Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working

On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the arrow next to Multilevel List. Click a chapter-numbering list definition (one that includes the text Heading 1. By default, if you type an asterisk or 1., Word recognizes that you are trying to start a bulleted or numbered list. You can turn off the automatic list.

  1. Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working
  2. Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working Word
  3. Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working Windows 10
  4. Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working Mac
  5. Word Multilevel List Stops

I was recently working on an assignment that needed to be typed up in an outline format. Using Microsoft Word 2007, I was very annoyed when I found that I was not able to use Tab to move to the next list level. For example, if I was typing up an outline like this:

A. 404 Tech Support

1. Tech News

2. Hardware and software reviews

3. Documented solutions

B. Jason’s Other Works

Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working

1. Nerd News

After I finished typing “A. 404 Tech Support” I would hit enter and that gives me “B.”. I would then hit Tab and it should change the “B.” to “1.”. Instead, to my frustration, it just tabbed over 5 spaces in front of “B.”. You can change the list level directly by clicking the down arrow next to the ordered or unordered list buttons on the Home tab and going down to “Change list level” where you select the level you’d like it to be.

Buried deep in the settings, there is an option that will allow the Tab key to work as expected. I’m not sure how it got switched off but it seems AutoFormat might prompt the setting to be changed at some point.

You’ll find the setting if you click on the Office button inside of Word (top-left corner) and then go down to Word Options.

From the window that pops up, click ‘Proofing’ on the left side. Under the AutoCorrect options click the Change how Word corrects and formats text as you type: “AutoCorrect Options…” button. Another window will pop up.

Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working

Stops

On the AutoCorrect Options window, select the AutoFormat As You Type tab (note there are two different tabs “AutoFormat” and “AutoFormat As You Type”). Near the bottom, check the second to the last box “Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces” and hit the Ok button.

List

Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working Word

After closing the Word Options window, you should be returned to your document and find that tabbing works as expected to change the list level in an ordered list.

Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working Windows 10

Word for mac multilevel list not working word

Pro-Tip: You can use the Tab key to move to the right and a more specific point in a list but you can also hold down the Shift key and then hit Tab to move to the left and a higher level bullet.

Word For Mac Multilevel List Not Working Mac

From the example above, after I typed out A3 “Documented Solution”, I hit enter and this gave me “4.”. I hit shift+Tab and this outdented it to the left and changed it to “B.” so I could type Jason’s Other Works.

Word Multilevel List Stops

Multilevel lists deserve a special place in hell. One multi-level list that I created works correctly. The others do not. Ever. I have spent many joyful hours perusing numerous blogs about making them. If someone could correct me in my backwards ways, or tell me where I have gone wayward, I would be eternally grateful. (See the bottom paragraph for more on my gratefulness.)
Here is my method for making one in Word 2010. Its confusing and doesn’t work.
1. The best thing ive figured out is use the Styles to create the multi-level list you like. Click on the little arrow to show the styles pane on the right.

2.
Modify as needed, and update the styles to match selections.

3.
Remove all the styles you don’t want in the pane above

4.
Click on Change Styles, go to Style Set, and save as Quick Style Set with a new name. I’m doing this because I want my styles and my styles only to appear in the Quick Style area. If you tell me to just use Microsoft’s styles, I will not like you, they are ugly and unprofessional. This seems to be the only part I can kind of make work. I don’t know what Save as Default does in the dropdown. I'm scared to try it. It will probably reverse the magnetic poles or something equally awful.

5.
When you open a new document, go to Change Styles and pick your newly named set.

6.
Hopefully they look the way you left them in the Quick Styles window, although they could totally be bolded or have random numbers in front of them etc. And hopefully there aren’t a bunch of styles there that you already deleted.

7.
If you want things to be in order when you use the indent keys, which would make too much sense and is too good to be true, go to the multi-level list button and click on the one that closest resembles yours. You might have 5 Lists in Current Documents even though your document is blank. When the correct one is highlighted, go to Define New Multilevel list.

8.
Link each level to the style you want. Its quite possible that the example list will bear little to no relation to what you currently have/want, and when you link your style to each level, it will screw your style formatting unless you make it correct in that pane.

9.
When you say ok, cross your fingers and test your multi-level list.

10.
If things are wonky, which they probably will be, adjust them yet again and update the style again. It will probably change some of the other styles when you do that, which makes total sense. Fix and update them all individually.

11.
Just for fun, go look at the Multi-level List pane again and probably see that all your linking is gone or that half of it is in one list in the Current List area and half is in another list and never the two shall meet. You could try fixing it again.

12.
Try saving as a Quick Style again, overwriting your old one of the same name and maybe it will be somewhat close to what you want when you do #5 again. But it probably won’t. If youre lucky, black boxes will cover your numbers, but those are easy to fix by Ctrl/Shft/S and reapplying the same style. Every time you open it.
If someone would like to attempt to make my non-working list work correctly, I would be eternally grateful and would owe you my firstborn child and the dozens of coffee cups of tears I have collected which probably cure carpal tunnel syndrome. I have no idea how to give you either list, but the odds are there is no way to share these things because that would be helpful, which is wrong.
Ive attached docs with each list anyway, even though Im sure they are useless to everyone, including me. The document entitled My multilevel list is the one that works. The document entitled LEED doc list does not.
Joyfully yours,
Shevaun