Add Bullets: MS Word 2000

A specific list of items in a business document is commonly formatted with a hanging indent with numbers or with small symbols called bullets to the left of each item. If the items must occur in a certain order, use a numbered list. If you can list the items in any order, use bullets.

You can use bulleted or numbered lists for the following purposes:

• To shorten the text
   
• To draw attention to certain elements
   
• To summarize
   
• To show sequence or relationship

Create Bulleted Lists

You can create bulleted lists either before or after you've typed the text.

• Click the Bullets button to toggle bullets on, and then type the list.
   
• Type a list, select it, and click the Bullets button to toggle bullets on.

You can also use keyboard characters to create a automatic bulleted list. Type and asterisk (*), greater-than symbol (>), or hyphen (-) and press Spacebar or Tab at the beginning of a paragraph. When you press Enter at the end of the paragraph, Word automatically formats the paragraph as an item in a bulleted list.

The paragraph is automatically formatted with a hanging and left indent accompanied by a bullet. As you press Enter, a new bullet appears ready for you to type the next item. To end the list, press Enter again.

Change the Bullet Style

You are not limited to these three styles of bullets, however. You can customize the style, size and indentation as well.

1. Choose Format | Bullets and Numbering and click the Bulleted tab. Choose one of these bullets and click OK, or continue with step 2.
    
2. Click Customize. This reveals the dialog box. Change the indentation or size of the bullet.
    
3. Click Bullet to have even more choices. In fact, this brings up the Symbol dialog box, allowing you to change fonts and see all the possibilities for symbols to use as bullets.
    
4. Click OK several times to apply your choices to the paragraph.

The new style of bullet appears at the beginning of the paragraph.

Note: Customizing the bullet changes the bullet that is used when you click the Bullets button the next time. Click the Reset button in the dialog box to restore the original choices.

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