Updated: Mastering Bullets from the start!

People often think Word has a mind of its own...This seems to ring especially true for people when working with bulleted and/or numbered lists. Here are some simple shortcuts to help you!

If you need multiple levels of bullets/numbers then you after you press Enter, then press Tab. This levels the information.
***Tab demotes***

If you need to move back up a level in the list, then shift and tab, promotes back up.
***Shift Tab promotes***

Sometimes when we type our list we need to drop text onto the next line, but align with the text not the bullet shape. This is easy to accomplish with a soft return. When you press enter then it produces a hard return (and in a bulleted/numbered lists another bullet).

***If you hold shift when you press enter it produces a soft return. ***

Time to stop playing the “backspace game”. The backspace game is what happens when you get the last bullet typed and then you get another right after pressing enter!
***If you hit enter twice it will end the list. ***

Here is a Sample list:

  • This is a first level tab. When I press Enter I get another bullet on the same level.

  • So here is another level 1 bullet...to go to level 2, I press Enter then Tab

    • Now I have a level 2, Enter and Tab again, gives me level 3

      • This called "Demoting" but now I need to "Promote", which is Enter, SHIFT+Tab

    • And it takes me up 1 level at a time, Enter, Shift+Tab

  • All the way back to 1 and I need to add a line of text under the bullet, Shift + Enter
    Shift+Enter is called a "soft return", now I will press ENTER, ENTER (Enter Button twice) to end the list

I love bullets!!!! NOW!!!