kimberfo45 wrote:

 

Ok, I know someone is going to tell me there's already a discusson on this topic so I'm telling you right now, I have searched the Forum every which-way on this question and came up blank. So thank you for bearing with me ...

 

I am sure this is a very simple remedy but for some reason I just cannot figure it out/find the solution. Needless to say, I am very frustrated!

 

I have a long document with several different areas where there are numbered lists, each beginning with the number 1:

 

1. text here

2. more text here

 

Another paragraph or 2 here. Then another numbered list:

1. blah blah

2. blah blah blah

3. and so on

 

I have the first batch of numbered items (1-5) formatted and styled. No problem. When I apply the style to the next batch of numbered items (a few paragrahs down), it begins with #6. When I go into Bullets & Numbering and choose Mode: "Start at ... 1" ALL the numbers display as 1, including those further up in the document.

 

What's the secret here??

 

HELP?!

 

Thank you!!

Yeah, it's frustrating when searches fail, no matter what you try.

I usually suggest searching Google, rather than InDesign (or other app's) Help, because resources from Adobe forums, Adobe on-line documentation/help, and lots of related sites all produce good suggestions. Search Google for terms like "InDesign restart numbered list" without quotes to find a few good tips near the top of the returned links, from Adobe's LiveDocs. Those that indicate CS3 or CS4 usually have links to the same topic in CS5 docs.

HTH

Regards,

Peter

_______________________

Peter Gold

KnowHow ProServices

kimberfo45 wrote:

 

Thanks Peter (#2) ... I did try that and got an override in my "numbered list" paragraph style. When I "redefined" the style, it applied all 1's to each list. Ex:

 

1. dkafj dslkfj a

1. glake alkjfd

1. agldkj falkjs

1. aldfkj lfajk

 

Ad nauseum.

 

BTW, I have searched all over the web for help with this! I've been on this for over 2 hours and not making much progress. Many of the vids are good for basic bullets & numbering but they do not reveal the secret to non consecutive numbering throughout a long doc!!!

 

Yes, Indeed ... verrrrrry frustrating!

 

Thanks again! I'm here if you have any other suggestions re styling. Otherwise, I'm just going to leave that "+" sign where it is and hold my breath!!

 

kimberlee

It's not clear exactly which of the suggestions in the links that result from the Google search I suggested. Maybe there was too much information, maybe you tried to apply some suggestion(s) to what you have in place that's not working. Your example shows that you're using a restart-at-1 paragraph for all the steps in the list. So, let's start over.

You need two paragraph styles to manage multiple list instances. One style starts the list, the other continues the numbering. The continuing is easy; the restarting seems to confound some folks because there are two ways to approach it.

You also need a named list, so that it's isolated from other lists with different names.

Here's the general idea:

* Create a named list with Type > Bulleted & Numbered Lists > Define Lists

* Create a paragraph style that uses the defined numbered list and continues numbering from previous

* Create a paragraph style that uses the defined numbered list, and does one of the following:

- restarts the numbering from 1 and includes the ^1 numbering placeholder

  NOTE: PRO: It's easy to remember that a paragraph style that includes "restart" in its name must be used to restart list numbering

               CON: If the first item in the list is deleted or moved elsewhere in the list, it must be retagged with a style that increments the list number, rather than restarting it, and the new first paragraph in the list must be retagged with the restart-at-1 style.

  - restarts the numbering from 0 (zero) and includes no numbering placeholders

NOTE: PRO: Moving the first item in the list to another position, or deleting it, doesn't require retagging it, and the new first paragraph also doesn't need retagging.

           CON: It may take some effort to remember to precede a list with an "invisible zero list resetter" paragraph style. It's a bit easier if the style guide requires an introductory paragraph style to precede new lists.

The paragraph defined above uses the numbered list "named list," and restarts auto-numbering at 1. Not shown is the General > Next Style that designates "continuednumber" as the style applied to a new paragraph created when Enter/Return is pressed.

The paragraph defined above uses the numbered list "named list," and restarts auto-numbering at 0 (zero) invisibly, because the Numbering Style > Number text box is empty.

NOTE: Either of the restart-numbering styles creates a following paragraph a "continuednumber" paragraph style, which increments the list's number by 1.

Here are some examples:

HTH

Regards,

Peter

_______________________

Peter Gold

KnowHow ProServices

kimberfo45 wrote:

 

Hi Peter,

 

I sure appreciate your help and all the details! It seems so much more complicated than it needs to be, doesn't it? In my research, I have discovered I am not alone in my frustration with InDesign's numbered list procedure! David Blatner does a video/blog on this topic in InDesign Secrets and there is a huge discussion, revealing complaints and frustrations from other designers (pleading with Adobe for a fix in CS5 but alas, it's not there ... yet).

 

I finally reached my former InDesign teacher and for the benefit of everyone, I am posting her suggestion ... WHICH WORKED! Caveat: when I did multiple levels, I did use a Defined List, but did not with basic numbering (1, 2, 3, etc.).

 

------------------------------

Here's what you can do:

 

1.  Create a style for numbered lists and make them continuous.
2.  Create all your text:

 

1. text here
2. more text here

 

Another paragraph or 2 here. Then another numbered list:

 

3. blah blah

 

4. blah blah blah

 

5. and so on

 

Then, all you do is select the #3 paragraph and have it start at 1 [right click > Restart Numbering]. Don't select #4 and #5, and don't change the style.

-------------------------------

 

What I found is that the style I had created auto-redefined after restarting the numbering ... WHEW, I hate seeing that little "+" sign!

 

Thank you again for all your help!

 

Happy Green Beer Day,

Kimberlee

Hi, Kimberlee:

You're welcome.

You're correct about there seeming to be a lot to explaining this stuff. IMO, it's necessary here, and in other forum discussions, because of how the forum model affects how folks communicate. Often, the way a query is first posted, it seems that the poster has some knowledge and experience that merits a particular level of response; sometimes this is a wrong assessment. Also, responses are often too terse, too personal to the responder and not clear to the rest of us, and may leave essentials unstated. Then, the back-and-forth, and the piling-on begins. Some responders try to fix omissions or other errata (as they see it) in the offered responses. Rinse and repeat.

It's pretty simple, and as you illustrate in your example, a resetting operation is needed to restart a numbered list. There are different ways to achieve this reset, as I described earlier.

Your example may work for projects whose contents are at or near completion; this describes probably most designers' work. But it invites madness if and when that content requires re-ordering of numbered items, whether in a project that's given to a designer, and then must be revised before final lockdown.

Authors are much more likely to need to rearrange content often, as their grasp and development of content reveal other organization that improves clarity and an audience's understanding. Here's where the use of named lists everywhere, a continuing-autonumber paragraph style for list items, and a pre-list paragraph style that resets new lists with either the invisible-zero, or visible-1 method. It's more common to rearrange numbered list items, than to change a list that starts at 1 to a list than continues from a previous fragment. By having all list items tagged with the continuing (increment-by-1) property, there's no need to manually retag an item that's promoted to the first position with the appropriate paragraph style, or by the select-and-apply-restart method, and also change the former first step to a continued-numbering paragraph style, or apply the numbering property.

Well planned styles and careful consistent use of styles is especially useful where more than a single person works on the file. IMO, the worst-case scenario imaginable is a team that's untrained to the process, or who doesn't stick to it consistently, that collaborates on a document that contains ad-hoc formatted unnamed lists sprinkled through it.

My earlier detailed response isn't complete; it's longish because I wanted to avoid omissions and assumptions that could interfere with understanding the relatively-simple use of the process, once it's set up.

HTH

Regards,

Peter

_______________________

Peter Gold

KnowHow ProServices

Insert the cursor at the beginning of the subsequent list (where you want to start at 1 again):

Type > Bulleted & Numbered Lists > Restart Numbering