Working with large documents > Outlines > Numbering headings > Advanced functions: Creating your own heading list

The headings of a large document are often numbered. For example, the main heading is numbered 1, the corresponding subtopics are numbered 1.1., 1.2., 1.3., and so on.

With Write, you can have the headings of a document numbered automatically and also create the numbered list individually for this purpose.

To do so, proceed as follows:

1.	Create the document and outline it.

2.	Create a new numbered list with the desired type of numbering. Apply the option Hierarchical list and also enable the option Use paragraph's outline level as list level.

3.	Assign this numbered list to the paragraph style "Heading 1".

Without having to do anything more, a number is immediately applied to each heading in the document in accordance with its level and your specifications. Thus, main headings are numbered 1., 2., 3., etc., second-level headings with 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc., and so on.

The detailed procedure for doing so is as follows:

Step 1: Create and outline the document

First, you must create the document and outline it, of course. It doesn't matter if you apply the outline right at the beginning or only after entering the complete text.

For more information on outlining documents, see Outlines.

Step 2: Create an appropriate numbered list

The next step is to create an appropriate numbered list. To do so, proceed as follows:

1.	Under Home \| Numbered lists , click on the small arrow of the icon and select Format numbered lists to open the dialog box.

2.	Switch to the Numbered lists tab.

3.	Click on the New button.

4.	Enter any name for the new numbered list (for example, "Headings") and click on the Edit button.

5.	Important: In the following dialog box, select the option Hierarchical list for Numbered list.

6.	Important: You can also enable the option Use paragraph's outline level as list level here.

7.	You can change other settings at will or simply retain the default settings. For more information on the individual options, see Creating your own numbered lists.

8.	Confirm with OK.

9.	The numbered list is now defined, and you can exit the dialog box by clicking on Close.

Step 3: Assign this numbered list to the paragraph style "Heading 1"

The last step is the actual "highlight": If you now assign the numbered list created above to the paragraph style "Heading 1", everything will now work by itself – any existing or newly inserted heading will be automatically numbered.

Even subheadings (second order, third order, etc.) are also numbered, because their styles are all based on the style "Heading 1".

Proceed as follows:

1.	Right-click to open the context menu and select Paragraph style.

2.	Select the paragraph style Heading 1 .

3.	Click on the Edit button.

4.	The program displays the dialog box for editing the style. Switch to the Paragraph tab.

5.	Click on the Bullets button.

6.	The program displays another dialog box for creating numberings. Switch to the Numbered lists tab.

7.	Select the numbered list that you created in step 2.

8.	Click successively on OK, OK and Close to exit all dialog boxes.

All existing and subsequently added headings will now be automatically numbered.

Tip: If you don't like the numbering format, you can adjust the numbered list created in step 2 to your liking at any time. To do so, use the ribbon command Home | Numbered lists to select Format numbered lists. In the dialog box, select the list, click on Edit and make the desired changes. These changes will then affect all headings in the document – including those already numbered.

Note for users of older versions of Write

In older versions of Write, the numbering of headings was not implemented automatically via numbered lists but by manually inserting "auto number" fields.

If you have old documents in which the headings are still numbered via the old method, you can continue to use them without restriction, of course. The "auto number" field is still supported by Write.

When creating new documents, however, we recommend that you use the new method. Numbered lists have several advantages:

▪You no longer have to manually insert "auto number" fields before each heading.

▪Numbered lists are more flexible: more types of numbering and formatting are available.

▪Numbered lists can be easily changed retroactively. If, for example, you want to change the formatting of all numbers, all you have to do is edit the formatting of the numbered list – the numbers of all headings will immediately change accordingly.