Feel Tips - Change Number Alignment in Word Numbered List

Numbered list is one of the most common styles in Word document. Select the items and go to Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Numbering.  In Word 2003, we will do this on the Formatting toolbar. After you create a numbered list, you probably would notice that Word uses left aligned numbers by default in the list. And the number alignment can’t be obviously changed. However, a number right-aligned list can be a few clicks away if you finish this post.

There is an example below. Now, the number of the Numbered list is left-aligned. Follow the simple steps below. We will make it right-aligned.  

1. Select the items and right-click the numbered list.
2. Then, choose Numbering. If you are using Word 2003, choose Bullets and Numbering.
3. Select Define New Number Format from the list below the gallery. Click the Customize button when you use Word 2003.

4. In the resulting dialog box as the image shows above, choose Right from the Alignment dropdown. Use the Number Position dropdown if you are using Word 2003.

5. After the setting, click OK. Microsoft Word will immediately change the alignment from left to right.

I think most users like the numbers right aligned. Unfortunately, this trick is a temporary document-specific action. If you save and close the document which you’ve changed the number alignment, it will default turn to left alignment when you open it the next time. Hope sometimes the default setting can be adjusted by Microsoft.