How to start a numbered list at a different number

Set numbering value is the answer in Write by Zaweba. Click in the item you want to change, choose it and type the number the list should start from. That item takes the new number and the items after it follow on. Restarting numbering at 1 works the same way, for a new list straight after an old one.

Why lists need a different start

Numbered lists do not always start at 1. Instructions split by a picture or a note need the second half to carry on from where the first stopped. Exam questions might continue from a previous page or section. Minutes number their items to match an agenda. A list of steps copied from another document might need to start at 7 because it fits into an existing sequence.

Without a way to set the number, you end up typing numbers by hand, which falls apart the moment you add or remove an item.

Setting the number step by step

Make the list first. Write starts a numbered list from the Bullets and numbering library, and AutoFormat also starts one when you type 1. or a) at the start of a line. Write each item and press Enter to move to the next. Pressing Enter on an empty item ends the list.

Now click in the item whose number you want to change and choose Set numbering value. Type the starting number and confirm. The item takes that number and the rest of the list follows in order.

To restart a list at 1, click in the item that should be number one and restart the numbering there.

Choosing the number style

The Bullets and numbering library offers several number styles: 1. and 1) for ordinary lists, a. and a) for sub-points, A. for sections, and i. and I. for Roman numerals. Set numbering value works with each of them, so a list in letters can start at c. as easily as a numbered list can start at 3.

For legal documents, policies and reports, the library also has outline numbering of the 1. then 1.1. then 1.1.1. kind, which makes each level carry the numbers of the levels above.

Keeping lists tidy

Real numbering is better than typed numbers because it updates itself. Insert a step in the middle and everything below renumbers. Delete one and the gap closes. Keep that working by always using the list rather than typing numbers in front of paragraphs.

If AutoFormat starts a list when you did not want one, Ctrl+Z straight after the change puts back exactly what you typed. You can also turn list starts off in Tools, then AutoCorrect options.

Lists in shared files

Lists made in Write keep their numbering when saved as .docx or .zawr, so a document sent to someone using another word processor shows the same numbers. A .docx from elsewhere with continued or restarted numbering opens with its numbers in place too.

Getting the numbers right is a small thing that readers notice when it goes wrong. In Write by Zaweba, Set numbering value fixes it in a second, and the list keeps itself in order from then on.