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melaniem44089580
Inspiring
April 14, 2021
Question

Problem with numbered list and styles

  • April 14, 2021
  • 7 replies
  • 4417 views

I inherited an InDesign document with complicated numbered lists. It was set up so sections have numbers that auto-update, which is not the way it should have been done. I want to remove these auto-section numbers and type the section numbers in, but when I remove the numbering from the style that's applied to the section headers (Heading 3), the numbering for text with the style Heading 4 changes. Is there any way to remove the numbering without changing anything else? Thanks!

 

I tried to post the document and it's not working. Let me know if any other information would be helpful. 

This topic has been closed for replies.

7 replies

Dave Creamer of IDEAS
Community Expert
Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 16, 2021

You need to isolate the various numbering schemes from each other by defining your lists. 

I created a list called Heading at the Type > Bulleted & Numbered Lists > Define Lists. (I called it "Heading".)

I set Heading 1, 2, and 3 paragraph styles to the list definition and it fixed the heading 3 numbering issue.

 

I think the other paragraph styles could benefit from some major reformatting to the numbered list formats, however, it would take too long to go through the complex document. On deciding on whether I should take the time and trouble to clean up a document, I take into account how often I'll be working with it. 

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
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melaniem44089580Author
Inspiring
April 16, 2021

Thank you! I tried this, but it affects the numbering for Heading 4. The numbering for Heading 4 should restart with each section. When I make any changes to the lists for Headings 1-4, it numbers everything with the Heading 4 style sequentially. I'm starting to think there really is no way to fix this without redoing the whole document.  

Dave Creamer of IDEAS
Community Expert
Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
Community Expert
April 20, 2021

If you want to send me a document with just* all the heading levels you use (in order), I can go through and make sure all the styles are set correctly. 

 

*I don't need the body text or graphics. Just the styles--for example:

3.1.1 Heading 1

3.1.1.1 Heading 2

3.1.1.1.1 Heading 3

3.1.1.1.1.1 Heading 4

etc.


I have emailed the InDesign file with my edits to the heading styles.

David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
    Barb Binder
    Community Expert
    Barb BinderCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 15, 2021

    Hi @melaniem44089580:

     

    The issue is that you have numbering levels that are working together. The top levels are resetting the levels underneath—so when you remove the auto-numbers from the topmost level, it's causing issues with the ones below. However, from that one screen shot we can see that the numbering is jerry-rigged—some auto and some manual. The person that set up the styles didn't fully understand the process. 

     

    I'm with Dave, auto-number all of the levels. Once they are set up correctly they will always work. If you mistag one heading and you get the wrong number, then you can just re-tag it with the right style. It should not be a big deal. This post explains how to set up numbered heads correctly: https://www.rockymountaintraining.com/adobe-indesign-numbering-headings/

     

    ~Barb 

    ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
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      melaniem44089580Author
      Inspiring
      April 15, 2021

      The numbering is correct. The first part of the number always stays the same (3.11.) The section headers (heading 3) will never change. Removing the auto-numbering would solve two problems--one is that I don't want the numbers to change accidentally, and the other is that the numbering for one section is incorrect and I can't find a way to fix it. 

      Dave Creamer of IDEAS
      Community Expert
      Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 15, 2021

      Why do you want to remove the auto-numbering? Based on the small glimpse of the document, it looks like manually numbering items would be a lot more work and prone to error.

      David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
      M
      melaniem44089580Author
      Inspiring
      April 15, 2021

      The section numbers are never going to change. It's better if they can't update automatically, so they don't change accidentally. Also, one of the section numbers is incorrect, and I can't find a way to fix it. It's 3.11.b.6 when it should be 3.11.2.8. It has the same style as the other section headers, so I can't see any reason why it's doing this. This means I can't create a Table of Contents using the section headers. 

      Dave Creamer of IDEAS
      Community Expert
      Dave Creamer of IDEASCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 15, 2021

      My first thought is that there is a problem with how the section numbers are built in the styles. 

       

      I would be happy to take a look at the file (or section of the file). Click on my name and you can message me. (I'm teaching until 4 pm PTZ, so I won't be able to get right on it.) 

       

      Or, you can check out the styles in this document to see if they can solve your problem: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AoUnkZfvAJFlqOV29JkBUe8dOMl0Dw?e=JIJYtd

       

      David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
        L
        Community Expert
        LaubenderCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        April 14, 2021

        Hi melaniem44089580,

        you could convert the auto numbering of paragraph style "Heading 3" to regular, plain text.

        This is a feature of a selected paragraph style in the Paragraph Styles panel.

         

        But I have no idea what this means for all the dependencies on styles and the numbering in your document.

         

        Regards,
        Uwe Laubender

        ( ACP )

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        melaniem44089580Author
        Inspiring
        April 14, 2021

        I tried changing the auto numbering to plain text for one line of text with the Heading 3 style, and that also caused the Heading 4 numbering to change. Instead of restarting the numbering with each section, it numbers everything in the document in that style sequentially. 

        Mike Witherell
        Community Expert
        Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        April 14, 2021

        Then perhaps you should allow Heading 4 and Heading 3 to number their respective numberings based on separate custom-named Bullets & Numbering List > New List...

        If they are based on different lists, they cannot interfere with each other.

        Mike Witherell
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          melaniem44089580Author
          Inspiring
          April 14, 2021

          Thanks for the response. I tried creating a new list for Heading 4, and it renumbers the other lists. This document is almost all lists, so it has 8 levels of lists and several variations for most of the list styles. 

          Mike Witherell
          Community Expert
          Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          April 14, 2021

          Also, you could edit Heading 4 paragraph style to not inherit from Heading 3 by setting its Based On to No Paragraph Style.

          Mike Witherell
          M
          melaniem44089580Author
          Inspiring
          April 14, 2021

          Heading 4 is based on the Basic Paragraph style, which doesn't have any bullets/numbering. 

          Mike Witherell
          Community Expert
          Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
          Community Expert
          April 14, 2021

          If you have an image to share, try avoiding the link button in favor of the Insert Photo button.

          Mike Witherell
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