in a numbered list, when I hit 100 it jumps to 5 spaces after the number where it was 1 up until then. How to change that?

Question

in a numbered list, when I hit 100 it jumps to 5 spaces after the number where it was 1 up until then. How to change that?

Linda Coppola 40

I am creating a numbered list from a collection of data in smaller lists. I highlighted the whole list and formed 1 continuous numbered list. That was fine but at 100 the list has a gap of about 5 spaces after the number. 1-99 has just 1 space after the number. I want all of them to have 1 space. The big gap doesn't look good and many lines are forced to go to the next line. I don't think this would happen without the spacing. On line 100 when I try to backspace to remove the gap it drops the number and makes the next line 100, so that messes with all the lines after. Any Ideas on what to do?

I've tried several of the options under spacing and nothing their seems to work.

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Answer 1

John Korchok 236.2K Volunteer Moderator

You need to adjust the tab and indentation for the numbered list so it can accommodate three-digit numbers. Here's my article with the steps to fix this problem: Numbered Indentation Jumps to Next Tab - Best Practices

Suzanne S Barnhill 279.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-06-06T00:50:04.2666667+00:00

Also, if your lists routinely exceed 9 or 99, you may want to right-align the numbers so they align on the ones column. This will require adjusting the "Aligned at" and "Text indent at" values at each level.
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Stefan Blom 353.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-06-06T07:58:24.9933333+00:00

See also Suzanne's article at http://ssbarnhill.com/wordfaqs/NumberAlignment2007.htm#NumberedLists .

Answer 2

The extra gap at 100 is caused by the way Word aligns multi‑digit numbers in the list, not by normal paragraph spacing. Adjusting the list’s number formatting/indentation fixes it.

Use a multilevel list definition so the indent is controlled consistently:

Click in the first item of the numbered list.
On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, open the Multilevel List menu and choose Define New Multilevel List.
In the dialog, select the level used for this list (usually Level 1).
Adjust the Number position and Text indent so that the text lines up correctly for both single‑ and triple‑digit numbers (for example, reduce the Text indent value so the gap after 100 is smaller).
Apply the changes.

This dialog gives control over indentation and alignment so that when the list reaches 100, Word does not insert a large fixed gap before the text.

If the Tab key no longer changes list levels while adjusting the list, ensure the option “Set left and first-indent with tabs and backspaces” is enabled (File > Options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > AutoFormat As You Type).

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