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Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®
© Copyright 1996-2023 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

QuickBullets automatically uses WordPerfect's Outline feature by calling up an outline style that was chosen in Insert, Outline/Bullets & Numbering — i.e., the various outline styles that create automatic outline numbering or bullets.

If no outline is currently active in the document, the feature uses the first outline style (named "Paragraph") for its numbering.

Some find it useful and others don't. Here's how to deal with it.

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☼  See also the section below on toggling this feature on and off as needed, regardless of the QuickBullets setting. Using the keyboard can be easier and faster than a menu.

☼  You can change the number's value at any point mid-way in the list (i.e., start with a different number) with the Set Paragraph Number button on the Outline Property Bar that should appear when your cursor is inside the list: (If the property bar is not visible see here.)

▸ Place the cursor in the list's text — not inside any code — and click the button to enter a new value.

[This works best with standard, non-decimal paragraph number (or letter) schemes.]

☼  It is easy to make quick, basic modifications to the appearance of the numbering scheme (e.g., add Tabs or Indents next to the number, letter, or bullet). See the customizing section below and the Tips section on indenting, outdenting, etc.

☼  As mentioned, you can change the numbering (outline) style from the default style or the style currently in effect in the document. See "Changing the current outline style or interspersing ("nesting") outlines" below. See also "To create automatic bullets instead of the default paragraph numbers" below.

In addition to using the keyboard (previous tip) to promote or demote an outline level, you can use dedicated buttons on the context-sensitive property bar that appears when your cursor is in the outline text (assuming that View, Toolbars, Property Bar is enabled).

The buttons have horizontally pointing arrows:

(= promote) (= demote)

An advantage to using these buttons over the keyboard (previous tip) is that the cursor does not have to be at the beginning of any text in order to promote or demote that level. Even if you prefer the keyboard to a mouse, this can make re-arranging an existing outline easier and less problematic.

Other buttons on that property bar can move (re-order) outline levels up or down, collapse or expand an outline, show or hide an outline's levels or body text, set a new starting number (next tip), etc.

Tip: Just hover the mouse cursor over a button and a tool tip will appear to describe the button's purpose.

☼  Start a numbered paragraph with a different number

Place the cursor in that numbered paragraph — but not inside a format code's Styles Editor dialog (such as for an Outline's [Style] code) — and click the Set Paragraph Number button on the Outline property bar (visible in the main toolbar area):

This brings up a small dialog with a single field:

Most often this method is used to start a new numbered list (or a new Outline entry number: see an example here) with the current paragraph number reset to "1" (as shown above) — but you can type any number in the dialog field. All subsequent numbered paragraphs will automatically renumber themselves.

Notes

¤  If you have manually inserted incrementing numbers using the Insert Paragraph Number method (<Ctrl+Shift+F5>, described below) the Outline property bar might only be visible when the cursor is on the same line as the number.

¤  On the other hand, if you used a standard outline style (or the related automatic numbering method on this page) the Outline property bar should be visible when the cursor is anywhere inside the outline or the auto-numbered material. (N.B.: If you cannot see the property bar at all, it might have been hidden accidentally: see here.)

¤  When setting a new number for an entry in an existing outline, the program will add a [Para Num Set] code at the beginning of the renumbered outline entry. This is visible in Reveal Codes.

¤  Renumbering an existing outline this way works best for Level 1 (top level) outline entries (otherwise its effect can sometimes carry through to subsequent entries, even those at different levels).

¤  If you want some intervening material to be un-numbered in an outline, you can use line breaks instead of hard returns (the Enter key) for that material -- or just toggle the outline for that material off. (This is also discussed above.)

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☼  Using shortcut keys instead of Outline property bar button

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☼  Select text and automatically number (or un-number) it

If you select some text first and then press <Ctrl+H> [or <Ctrl+T> if you use the DOS keyboard], or click an assigned button [if you use that method; see above], the selection — up to the end of the paragraph (or paragraphs) — will be numbered automatically.

Repeat this process to un-number it.

Note that this tip applies to any Outline or Bullet style (Insert, Outline/Bullets & Numbering...). By default, automatic numbering uses the first Outline style ("Paragraph").

Related tips:

◦  Blank (empty) numbered lines/paragraphs can easily be removed from numbering by placing the cursor in them and pressing the shortcut toggle key (<Ctrl+H> or <Ctrl+T>). Or you can press the <Backspace> key to remove the [Para Style] code for that line/paragraph. The remaining items will be renumbered automatically.

◦  Some blank lines — on screen and in print — might not be truly empty if they contain space characters or "spacing" code such as a [Tab], and thus might be considered as a text paragraph when you select them to automatically number that selection. In that case the program will then number these "empty" lines, too. Check Reveal Codes to see if there are any [Tab] codes, space characters, etc., that might be causing unwanted numbering of blank lines. (This situation sometimes happens with material that was originally pasted from another source, such as Microsoft Word.)

◦  If the selected text was previously auto-numbered, the numbers in the selection will be removed and the text will revert to normal body text. Note that the text is no longer part of the Outline's structure, so to re-establish numbering you will need to select it again and then use the toggle key.

◦  If your main toolbar has a button with a "123" icon ("Numbering - Create numbered lists and outlines"), you can select text and click the button. (You can create this button by using the methods here.)

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☼  Create automatic bullets instead of the default paragraph numbers (discussed above)

Method

•  click Insert, Outline Bullets & Numbering;
•  select the <Bullets> tab; then
•  choose a bullet style and click OK.

Alternative #1

If QuickBullets is enabled in Tools, QuickCorrect, Format-As-You-Go, QuickBullets:

To create a bulleted list using QuickBullets, at the beginning of a new line, type one of the following characters, followed by a Tab or Indent, to produce the corresponding bullet:

Next, type the text, then press <Enter> to begin the next list item. Continue to add more bullet items by pressing <Enter>, then typing text.

Tips

☼  You can press <Ctrl+Shft+L> to insert a line break; this will start a new non-bulleted paragraph under the previous bulleted one (press <Enter> to resume automatic bulleting). This is a good way to gather several paragraphs under a single bullet item.

☼  Using the letter "o" or "O" to start a QuickBullet list will cause QuickBullets to employ a multi-level outline list whereby pressing <Tab> or entering an indent at the beginning of the second and subsequent paragraphs (before typing text in the paragraph) will indent both the bullet and the text.

☼  Starting a QuickBullets list with the other characters (>, *, ^, +) will create a single-level bullet list whereby pressing <Tab> or entering an indent will indent the paragraph's text only, not the bullet.

☼  To end the bullet list, press <Enter>, then <Backspace> — or simply toggle the list off (see the above section, "To toggle it ON and OFF when needed").

☼  If you do not want one of these characters-plus-tab to begin a bulleted list, add the character to the QuickCorrect list: Click Tools, QuickCorrect, then type the character in both the Replace and With text boxes. (This makes the program replace the character with itself instead of a bullet.)

Alternative #2

You can insert a bullet (i.e., a bullet list paragraph style), at the beginning of the current paragraph or in the middle of another paragraph outline style, with <Ctrl+Shft+B>.

The "Insert Bullet" feature is assigned to these keystrokes (a "shortcut") by default; therefore, QuickBullets does not need to be enabled for this shortcut to work.

Note

Once you have used <Ctrl+Shft+B> at least once, the bullet list paragraph style will be added to your default template and show up in the Select Styles list on the Text property bar in all new documents.

You can delete this bullet style by editing your default template and deleting the style there (Format, Styles, <choose style>, Options, Delete); however, it causes no harm to leave it in the styles list, and in any case you can still use <Ctrl+Shft+B> to insert the bullet.

Alternative #3

You can also create a custom bulleted outline list. For example, to use an asterisk (*) character symbol for bullets:

•  Click Insert, Outline/Bullets & Numbering, Bullets.
•  Click on "More Bullets."
•  Type 0,42 in the Number box to select the asterisk character, then click "Insert and Close." [This creates a new type of bulleted list that uses an asterisk symbol for the bullet character.]
•  Click OK to begin creating the list.

Tips

☼  To use this type of list again in the current document, click Insert, Outline/Bullets & Numbering, Bullets and select the list.

☼  To save this new custom bullet list for use in other documents: In the Bullets & Numbering dialog, click Options, Copy, Default template.

☼  Also see "METHOD B: USING GRAPHIC IMAGES FOR OUTLINE BULLETS" here: Create custom bullets for your outlines.

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☼  Remove automatic numbers or bullets

To remove automatic numbers from your document using the toggle key on selected text as explained in the above tip. Or, select the numbered paragraphs and click Format, Styles, <None>, Insert (or Apply in WP8).

If your toolbar has a button with a "123" icon ("Numbering - Create numbered lists and outlines"), you can select the numbered item(s) and then click the toolbar button to remove numbering for that selection.

You can insert one or more unnumbered paragraphs of text under any outline number (or bullet) and maintain tabbed alignment by using a Line Break at the end of each inserted paragraph (<Ctrl+Shft+L>) instead of using the <Enter> key (i.e., a hard return). Pressing <Enter> automatically increments the outline (at the same level), but using line breaks does not.

[WordPerfect 8 (c.1997) users: Selecting numbered items first, then using the "123" button to un-number them, will only remove numbering from one paragraph (the last one in the selection) in WordPerfect 8. In WordPerfect 9 and later versions, all selected items are processed. The "Format, Styles, <none>, Apply" method will work better in WordPerfect 8 for removing automatic numbering from several paragraphs at a time.]

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☼  Convert automatic numbers or bullets to plain text

If you want to convert automatically numbered or bulleted paragraphs (those with items that begin with a [Para Style][Style] code pair) to their text equivalents (bullets are converted to text symbols), you can -

•  select the paragraph items,
•  press <Ctrl+C> to copy the selection, then
•  immediately click Edit, Paste Special, Unformatted text (or in recent WordPerfect versions you can right-click at the cursor location and choose Paste Unformatted Text).

Note that formatting will be lost in the paragraphs, but this is usually a minor problem to fix.

Alternative #1

Open Reveal Codes and select just the code pair at the beginning of each item, then press <Ctrl+C> to copy the selection, then immediately click Edit, Paste Special, Unformatted text. (This tip works in WP8+. Not tested in earlier versions.)

Note that with this alternative, remaining outline numbers will be automatically renumbered, so if you need to do this for more than one outline item, start at the highest number and work backward to preserve the numbering. To automate this process for the entire document, try the macro: "Replace outline numbers with text equivalents.wcm," downloadable in Repl-OL.zip. [Note: This macro was written in WPX4, but it might work in earlier versions. Test it on a copy of your document.]

Alternative #2

[For earlier versions of WordPerfect, such as WP8 (c.1997) and earlier:] Use John Land's (modified) #PAR2TXT macro, which automates the process of converting paragraph numbers to text.

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☼  Manually insert an incrementing paragraph number anywhere with <Ctrl+Shift+F5> (sometimes written as <Shift+Ctrl+F5>)

The shortcut key <Ctrl+Shift+F5> opens the small "Insert Paragraph Number" dialog:

Description

[1] without additional formatting (i.e., a [Style] component containing other formatting such as a tab or indent code adjacent to the number); and

[2] without any automatic change in the outline level if you move an automatic number code to a different tab stop; and

In other words, each number (and any numbers that happen to follow it in the sequence) increments as soon as you insert it (or move it) — but without any additional paragraph formatting that might upset adjacent text, such as when using <Ctrl+Shift+F5> in the middle of a paragraph (see graphic example below). [Tip: For a brief discussion on the two parts of an Outline style (automatic numbering and formatting style) see here.]

There's another small difference:

Think of it as the manual version of automatic paragraph numbering: To insert another number in the sequence you have to use that dialog each time.

Still, this method has advantages, as described below.

Inserting a paragraph number

Tips

☼  This feature makes it easy to automatically number items inside a paragraph, too. Just place the cursor where desired and use <Ctrl+Shift+F5> for each number.

Here's an example of the feature (numbers circled in red):

If you add or delete a number between two other such numbers, the following numbers will automatically adjust to maintain the sequence.

☼  If you prefer a different shortcut key combination for the Insert Paragraph Number feature you could re-assign its default <Ctrl+Shift+F5> shortcut — or just simply assign that feature to any other available shortcut key combination.

You can also add the Insert Paragraph Number feature to a toolbar or property bar to make it easy to access with a mouse.    

The feature can be found under the Format category, listed as Insert Paragraph Number on the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog as well as on the Toolbar and Property Bar Editors.

☼  Since the <Ctrl+Shift+F5> method uses the Outline feature, if you need to insert sequential numbering inside an existing outline consider using a WordPerfect counter for intra-outline numbering. [Note that counters can be used almost anywhere in a document, and can consist of sequential numbers, letters, or Roman numerals.]

☼  If you use the feature often, and with the same Number Type (e.g., 1., 2., etc.; see the Notes below), you could save a single instance of the [Para Num] code produced by the above methods as a QuickWord. Once saved it would be available in future documents. Simply typing a short abbreviation for that QuickWord (e.g., ~#) in the body text area followed by the Enter key would insert the (incrementing) number at the cursor location — without displaying the Insert Paragraph Number dialog. [Note that QuickWords can also store additional characters, symbols, and even graphics. This should let you create custom formatted numbers.]

•  For similar issues with merge forms:

See this thread on WordPerfect Universe.

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☼   Create an indented outline or numbered list

Before toggling numbering or outlines ON -or- if already on, place the cursor just to the left of the appropriate numbering or outline codes:

•  For a tab indent, press the <Tab> key.

•  For a paragraph inden, click Format, Paragraph, Indent. When you press <Enter> the next item will start under the current tab stop, rather than at the left margin.

As noted above, to toggle numbering on: For normal Windows keyboard definitions this is usually done with <Ctrl+H>; for the DOS keyboard it is usually <Ctrl+T>.

You can also select the items after they have been created and then press <Tab> or use a left indent. All following items will be tabbed/indented over to the next tab stop.

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☼   Create an outdented outline or numbered list

If you want the first-level numbers to appear outside the left margin (i.e., between the left page margin and the left edge of the page):

•  You might want to create a new paragraph outline style especially for this purpose; see "Creating or modifying outlines." Or, in Reveal Codes, you can just double-click the [Style] code in the numbered paragraph style to bring up the Styles Editor. Add a hard Back Tab to the beginning of the string of codes shown in the Contents field of the Styles Editor. [In the Editor: click Format, Paragraph, Back Tab.)

•  For second and subsequent level numbers, you will need to modify that level and insert two Back Tab codes, etc.

•  If you simply modified the style rather than created a new one, it will only apply to the current document.

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☼  Create text outlines

These are basically chained styles with an outline ability.

When you use text outline styles Insert, Outline..., Text) the Outline Property Bar displays on screen, which lets you expand, contract, promote, demote, move up/down, etc., so you have an automatic outline to work with, not just a fancy style.

Try clicking on one of the icons that demonstrates one of the outline styles, then click OK. Type some text, hit <Enter>, type some more, hit <Enter> etc. (When you are inside the outline, notice the property bar that appears.)

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☼  Quickly set or toggle the QuickBullets feature

This feature, along with more than a dozen other features, can be toggled On/Off with a macro. See the author's QC macro. This macro could be used as a startup macro, or played whenever these settings have been changed (as sometimes happens, for example, when you edit a macro or conduct a merge).

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☼  Do you create multiple-choice tests?

Here's a tip on creating a 2-column test with the questions in column 1 and the answers nicely lined up in column 2:

•  Start the multiple-choice exam: Click on Format, Columns, and choose 2 columns, and Parallel w/Block Protect. Adjust other options as desired. (You might want to make column 1 narrower than column 2, for example.) Click OK to return to the body text and the new column format.

•  In column 1, type the first question's number (e.g., "1"), a period (full stop), and a Tab (or use the assigned shortcut key to start outline numbering, as explained above).

•  When you have finished typing the question, do not press <Enter>; instead, press <Ctrl+Enter> to jump to column 2, then immediately press <Tab> to start the next level of outlining (or click the Demote arrow on the property bar). This should insert an "a.", whereupon you can start typing your answers. Press <Enter> after each answer, except the last one for that question.

•  When you have finished typing the answers to the question in column 2, press <Ctrl+Enter> to return to column 1, then press <Shift+Tab> to promote the numbering up (or click the Promote button on the property bar); you should now see a "2." in column 1. Type the next question, then instead of <Enter>, press <Ctrl+Enter> to jump to column 2, etc.

•  Click on Format, Columns, Discontinue when finished typing the answers to the last question.

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☼  Create custom bullet styles

See create custom bullets for your outlines.

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☼  Create a numbered list with checkboxes on the right (e.g., a "To Do" list)

Here's how to do it:

•  Step 1. Click on Insert, Outline/Bullets & Numbering. Under the Numbers tab, click on the icon labeled "Numbers 2" to select it.

•  Step 2. Click the Options button, and click on Copy to make a copy of this outline that you can edit to make a brand-new outline. The Outline Definition Copy dialog opens. If you want to copy the new outline style to the default template, click on the radio button "Default template"; otherwise, click OK. The Outline Definition Duplicate dialog opens; give the style a name such as "Checklist" then press OK. The new style will be added to the bottom of the icons. (It should already be selected; if not, select it.)

•  Step 3. Click on the Edit button. The Create Format dialog opens; this is where you will set up your Outline style. (Each outline in WordPerfect has a style associated with it.) Notice that the current outline is a single level style; the preview pane shows a list of single-level numbers on the right side of the dialog. We will now add a check box to the right of these numbers by creating a new style associated with this outline.

•  Step 4. Click on Create Style. The Style Editor opens. In the Style Name field, give the style a name such as "Checkbox." (The name of the style and the name of the outline must be different; here, we have used similar names as a memory device.) You can give the style a brief description, too. The field labeled "Enter key inserts style" should say <Same Style>, the Type field should be set to Paragraph, and the check boxes "Automatically update style when changed in document" and "Show 'off codes'" should be checked.

•  Step 5. In the Contents field, place the cursor after all codes; that is, make sure it is to the right of the code labeled "Codes to the left are ON - Codes to the right are OFF." (Just click inside the Contents field and move the cursor into position with the <Arrow> keys.)

Tip: If you want the checkbox to appear immediately next to the paragraph number, place the cursor either in front of the [Para Num] code or after it, depending on where you want the box to appear in relation to the number.

•  Step 6. Optionally add one or two separator spaces (simply press the Spacebar) or a flush right with dot leaders (click on Format, Line, Flush Right...), then press <Ctrl+W> to bring up the Symbols list. Choose a box-like symbol such as the one in Typographic Symbols, number 4,38. Click on Insert and Close. The block symbol should now be inserted in the Contents field. Click OK to return to the Create Format dialog. Notice the new style in the Preview pane.

•  Step 7. Click OK twice to return to your document. The first outline number should the on screen. Simply type in some text and press the <Enter> key. A small check box should appear to the right of your text. Each time you press the enter key a new outline number will appear along with the small check box.

To toggle the outline list on and off, see above.

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☼   Create "dot aligned" outlines [e.g., Roman numerals right-aligned on the period ("full stop") that follows each number]

•  Step 1. Click on Insert, Outline/Bullets & Numbering. Under the Numbers tab, click on the desired icon (e.g., the one labeled "Roman") to select it.

•  Step 2. Click the Options button, and click on Copy to make a copy of this outline that you can edit to make a brand-new outline. The Outline Definition Copy dialog opens. If you want to copy the new outline style to the default template, click on the radio button "Default template"; otherwise, click OK. The Outline Definition Duplicate dialog opens; give the style a name such as "Roman 2" then press OK. The new style will be added to the bottom of the icons. (It should already be selected; if not, select it.)

•  Step 3. Click on the Edit button. The Create Format dialog opens; this is where you will set up your Outline style. (Each outline in WordPerfect has a style associated with it.) Notice that the current outline is a single level style; the preview pane shows a list of single-level numbers on the right side of the dialog. We will now create a new style associated with this outline.

•  Step 4. Click on Create Style. The Style Editor opens. In the Style Name field, give the style a name such as "RomanAligned" (The name of the style in the name of the outline must be different; here, we have used similar names as a memory device.) You can give the style a brief description, too. The field labeled "Enter key inserts style" should say <Same Style>, the Type field should be set to Paragraph, and the check boxes "Automatically update style when changed in document" and "Show 'off codes'" should be checked.

•  Step 5. In the Contents field, place the cursor before (i.e., in front of) all codes. (Just click inside the Contents field and move the cursor into position with the <Arrow> keys.)

•  Step 6. On the Styles Editor's menu, click Insert, Tab to insert a Left tab.

•  Step 7. Double-click on the newly inserted [Left Tab] code. The Tab Set dialog appears. Set the Tab type to Decimal, and the Tab position to at least 0.05". Click Set, then Close. IMPORTANT: Now remove any [Dot Lead] or [Dec/Align] codes by pressing <Backspace>. The main operational codes in the Contents field should now be these codes:

[Tab Set][Dec Tab][Para Num: 1][Hd Left Ind]

•  Step 8. Click OK three times to get back to your document. The first outline number should be on the screen. Simply type in some text and press the <Enter> key. Each time you press the enter key a new outline number will appear, right-aligned on the period ("full stop").

To toggle the outline list on and off, see above.

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☼   Display a tally of your numbered paragraphs

For example, you might start a section of a document with something like

"The following ? items (or questions, etc.) should be ..."

where the question mark will show the total number of paragraphs in the following outline (or section of an outline).

Note that this technique requires that the following paragraphs in the outline begin with numbers, not letters, that are chosen with Insert, Outline..., such as the "Paragraph" or "Legal" outline. If a Letter is used, the tally will be a letter, too.

•  Click in the document location where you want to create a tally of the paragraphs (usually after any paragraph outline codes), then use Tools, Reference, Cross Reference and choose "Paragraph/Outline" as the Reference Type. In the Select Target field, type a target name such as "tally". Then click Mark Target to insert the [Target] code into the document.

•  Next, click in the location where you want the tally number to appear (e.g., just above the paragraph outline). Then click Mark in the Cross Reference dialog to insert the [Ref Para] code. A "?" appears in the document at the cursor location.

•  Click Generate..., OK, to generate the cross reference. The tally — the total number of paragraphs up to the [Target] code — should appear where the "?" was displayed.

•  Note that the tally is simply the last number in the sequence of paragraph numbers. No actual mathematical operation takes place. Hence the recommendation to place the [Target] code outside of the last [Para Style] code in the outline, in case you want to add more paragraphs to the outline.

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☼   Refer to the same range of outline items in your document even if items are added or deleted in the outline

For example, you might want to cite several contiguously numbered paragraphs, such as "...see Steps 3 to 6." Assuming you have used the automatic Outline numbering feature to number the steps in your document, here's how to do it.

•  Step 1. Open Reveal Codes so you can see what is happening. Click on Tools, Reference, Cross Reference to display the Reference Tools dialog. For the Reference Type, choose "Paragraph/Outline."

•  Step 2. With the Reference Tools dialog still open (you can drag it to relocate it on screen), select the first word or two of the text in step #3's paragraph, then click inside the Select Target field. (The selected words should appear there. Alternatively, you can type a name into the field, if that works better for you.) Click the Mark Target button. A [Target] code is inserted in the document, in the outline's paragraph just to the left of the word(s) you selected and marked.

•  Step 3. Repeat step 2 for the next to-be-referenced outline item.

•  Step 4. Now that the two targets have been marked, place the cursor in the document just after the "...see Ssteps " phrase, and in the Reference Tools' Select Target field, choose (i.e., click on) the target name for the first item, then click the Mark button (not the Mark Target button). A question mark ("?") placeholder appears in the document's text, produced by a [Ref Para] code that is inserted in the document.

•  Step 5. Type the word "to" bracketed with spaces, and repeat #4 above for the second item.

•  Step 6. Click the Generate button in the Reference Tools dialog, or click on Tools, Reference, Generate. This brings up a small Generate dialog where you are given two choices: Save Subdocuments and Build hyperlinks. The first is only useful if you are working in a master document which has one or more subdocuments (for more on this topic see here), and the second is only useful if you have (or want to have) hypertext links in the document. Most often, you can just click OK.

•  Step 7. You should see the following in the documet text: "...see Steps 3 to 6".

•  Step 8. Now, test the results: Place the cursor at the end of the text in step 2 and press <Enter>. This should insert a new step 3. Re-generate the references with the Reference Tools dialog's Generate button or click on Tools, Reference, Generate. You should now see the following in the document text: "...see Steps 4 to 7".

Note: When editing the outline paragraphs, use Reveal Codes to ensure that you do not delete the cross-reference [Target] codes.

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☼  Skip all of a Legal outline's first levels (in WordPerfect 9 and later)

Here's how to create an automatically numbered outline list like where the first level numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) are skipped but second (and subsequent) levels are available:

1.1 Job requirements
1.2 Education
1.3 Employment
2.1 Job description
2.2 Other duties
...etc.

Notice there are no items numbered with a single, whole number (1,2,3) in the above list — as would be the case when using the standard Legal outline — because those would be first-level items. The list above is made up of second-level (Legal-style) outline items. (Third- and subsequent-level items are still available by demoting an item with the <Tab> key or with the Demote button on the Outline property bar.)

Such a numbering scheme might be useful in legal documents, non-fiction books, procedure manuals, and so forth.

Here are methods to do it [A] with a new outline and [B] with an existing outline:

□ Method A. Procedure with a new outline
[For an existing outline, see below.]

•  Step 1. Start the new outline list by clicking Insert, Outline/Bullets... and choose a Legal outline style from the icon list (usually, there are four Legal styles to choose from). Click OK. This will insert a "1" in the document, at the left margin.

This is the first level of the outline.

•  Step 2. Immediately press <Tab> to demote the first level. This will produce a "1.1" (or similar decimal number) in the document.

This is the second level of the outline.

•  Step 3. Type some text, and press <Enter> for the next item at this level (e.g., "1.2"). Repeat as needed for item "1.3," "1.4," "1.5," etc.

Tip:

For intra-outline text — i.e., material that should not be numbered in the outline — you can either toggle the outline off temporarily, or for small blocks of material use line breaks (Ctrl+Shift+L) instead of ending an outline level with <Enter>.

•  Step 4. To increase the main (whole) number in the decimal Outline:

When you need to produce the next higher main number in the level's sequence (i.e., "2.1") -

◦  press <Enter> to display the next item number in the Outline sequence;

◦  immediately click the "Set Paragraph Number" button [image] on the Outline property bar that displays whenever the cursor is inside an outline;

◦  in the "Set Paragraph Number" dialog that appears, either -

type the number you want to use for that level (i.e., type "2.1" to produce "2.1")

- or -

set the number to one number higher than what common sense would tell you (i.e., set it to "3" to produce "2.1" in the outline).

Note that this method works only for the level you are currently using for your outline. For example, iIf you are using second-level items (n.n) at that point, you would only type second-level numbers (e.g., "2.1," "3.1," etc.). If you need a third-level item, first demote the current two-level item down to a three-level item (n.n.n), then type a third-level item into the dialog (e.g., "3.1.1"). If you don't demote the item first, WordPerfect will "round up" the current number to conform to the current level's scheme (e.g., two-level numbers).

To create third- and subsequent-level numbers, press <Tab> or <Shift+Tab> as usual to demote or promote an item (or use the property bar).

Tip:

You can customize the outline to change the next visible level to (e.g.) an "A.", the level after that to (e.g.) a "1.", etc., by creating a new outline style using the following scheme in the Create Format dialog. [You can also simply make a copy a Legal outline in the Insert, Outline/Bullets & Numbering dialog and modify it.]

This produces an outline like this:

[No numbers (1, 2, etc.) for all first level items]
1.01
1.02 (etc.)
    A.
    B. (etc.)
        1. 
        2. (etc.)
2.01 (etc.)

The custom style was named LegalLtrNumb (Legal,Letter, Number). The numbers and letters were typed in the Number/Bullet field in the dialog shown below.

Notice that each Level style sets both the numbering style and the number of indents used before and after the outline number in the document.

Notice also that the first two Levels chosen from the Style drop list were Legal styles ("Legal 1," "Legal 2"), and the remainder were standard styles ("Level 3"..."Level 6"). This was simply an arbitrary decision; feel free to design your own custom outline format.

□ Method B. Procedure with an existing outline
[For a new outline, see above.]

You can set new paragraph numbers anytime, even in existing Legal outlines. For example:

•  Use one of the Legal outlines during the first and subsequent drafts of the document.

•  Then, during the final draft, force the outline to skip all first level numbers by demoting all first level items (e.g., change "1" to "1.1" with the demote (arrow) button on the Outline property bar). You also can select multiple adjacent first-level items and use the demote button on the property bar to demote all of them at once.

•  Place the cursor in any subsequent second-level outline item and set the new paragraph number (e.g., from "1.4" to "2.1"), as detailed in the "new outline" section above. (For third-level items, you will need to promote them to second-level before you can renumber them.)

Note:

This trick works with the Legal ("decimal"), multi-level outlines but not other multi-level outlines. If you use non-Legal multi-level outlines (e.g., the Paragraph outline style) you can set the item number to the expected value (e.g., "2") and get the desired result.

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☼  Reset multi-level outline levels (e.g., Legal-style outlines) to a custom number

[This is a variation on the previous tip.]

Suppose you want to change what would normally appear as 2.1.1 to 8.3.1 in a Legal-style outline list.

Here's how to do it.

•  To try out the procedure first, create a sample Legal-style outline, including an item numbered 2.1.1, like this:

1
1.1
2
2.1
2.1.1 xSample text
2.2
2.2.1

•  Then place the cursor in front of (i.e., just to the left of) the text in item 2.1.1, where the "x" is in the example above.

•  Then click the Set Paragraph Number button [image] on the Property bar that should be displayed, and type in a value of 8.3.1 in the dialog that pops up.

•  You should see this — including a renumbered sequence of the remaining items:

1
1.1
2
2.1
8.3.1 Sample text
8.4
8.4.1

Notes

You must have, for example, a three-level item (n.n.n) to change it to another three-level item, as in the above sample.

For instance, if you also try to change the 8.4 in the above sequence to 9.1.1 (a third-level item), you will get 9.2 (a second-level item; WordPerfect "rounds up" to maintain a two-level scheme).

So, first demote the 8.4 down to 8.3.2 by placing the cursor before any text on that level and then pressing <Tab>. Or use the appropriate Property bar button to demote the level to 8.3.2.

Then type 9.1.1 into the dialog and you'll get 9.1.1.

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☼   Using outline styles in a Table of Contents

If you plan on using outline headings in a Table of Contents, see "Mark a style for inclusion in a Table of Contents". Some basic information about styles and several links to related pages can be found here.

☼   Other references:  See 'Related  Pages' in left sidebar above

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