WD: Hanging Indent Remains After Bullets and Numbering Removed

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a

SYMPTOMS

If you remove bullets or numbering formatting from a paragraph, sometimes Word for Windows does not remove the associated hanging-indent formatting.

CAUSE

By design, Word does not remove hanging-indent formatting if the paragraph is in the middle of a bulleted or numbered list. Instead, Word applies a "Skip Numbering" property, which is described below.

Word does, however, remove the hanging indent if the paragraph is at the beginning or end of a bulleted or numbered list. In this case, Word applies a "Stop Numbering" property.

"Skip Numbering"

If you select a bulleted or numbered paragraph in the middle of a list and remove the bullet or number, Word applies a Skip Numbering property to that paragraph. With Skip Numbering, Word removes the bullet or number but retains the hanging indent formatting that was applied when you created the bulleted or numbered list. You can use this functionality to create multiple-paragraph bulleted or numbered items that are automatically indented correctly. (To remove a bullet or number, select the paragraph, and then choose the Bullets or the Numbering button on the Formatting toolbar.)

"Stop Numbering"

On the other hand, if you select a bulleted or numbered paragraph at the beginning or end of a list and remove the bullet or number, Word applies a Stop Numbering property to that paragraph. With Stop Numbering, Word removes the hanging indent formatting in addition to the bullet or number. In other words, Stop Numbering removes all the formatting that Word applied when you added bullets or numbering formatting.

TIP: To easily see which Skip Numbering and Stop Numbering properties Word has applied to a paragraph, choose the Help button on the Standard toolbar. When the pointer becomes a question mark (?), click the paragraph. Word lists Skip Numbering and Stop Numbering under Direct Paragraph Formatting.

WORKAROUND

Use one of the following methods to remove the indent formatting as well as the number or bullet from a paragraph in the middle of a list:

Method 1

1. Right-click the paragraph that contains the numbering to be removed (use press CTRL and click the mouse if you are using Word for the Macintosh).

2. On the shortcut menu, click Skip Numbering.

3. on the Format menu, click Paragraph, and change the Left Indentation to -0.25" (negative .25 inches).

Method 2

Right-click the paragraph that contains the numbering to be removed (press CTRL and click the mouse in Word for the Macintosh.) On the menu that appears, click Stop Numbering.

Notice that for numbered lists, Word starts numbering the following paragraph with "1." If you want continuous numbering, change the Start At value to the correct number. (To display the Start At value, click the right mouse button in the paragraph and, from the menu that appears, choose Bullets And Numbering. Select the Numbered tab and then click the Modify button.)

NOTE: You cannot remove the indent formatting by clearing the Indentation settings in the Format Paragraph dialog box. This does not remove the Skip Numbering property, which maintains the hanging indent spacing regardless of indentation formatting you apply.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows and Word 98 Macintosh Edition

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word User's Guide," version 6.0, pages 14, 106-107

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, pages 171-173, 521