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.

Feel Tips - How to Customize Excel Sorting

Even though Microsoft Excel’s ascending and descending sort options are powerful tools, sorting in Excel is a common task. However, sometimes Excel doesn’t always sort values in a familiar and meaningful way. For example, when we sort months according to alphabetically, Excel might not sort in a meaningful way. According to the image below, we randomly enter 12 months in a column. After applying an ascending sort, the column list sorts alphabetically instead of sorting by month order.

When this is the case, we need a custom sort. Fortunately, Excel offers a custom sort. In Excel 2003, just follow the steps below. 

1. Select the month names. In this case of the above image, that’s A2:A13.

2. Choose Sort from the Data menu.

3. The resulting dialog box anticipates the custom sort. The Sort By control displays Month with an Ascending sort. If you click OK, Excel will sort the selected months in alphabetic order.

4. Click the Options button at the bottom of the dialog box. 

5. In the resulting dialog box, the First Key Sort Order control displays Month. Click the dropdown arrow to display four custom sort options.

6. Choose the last option, January, February, March, and so on. By default, a custom sort isn’t case-sensitive, but there’s an option to make it so, if you need it.

7. Click OK twice and Excel sorts the months in the familiar way you expect.

In Excel 2007 and 2010, there’s a little different:

1. Click the Sort option in the Sort & Filter group. (Don’t click the A to Z or Z to A sort icons, the ones with the arrows.)

2. In the resulting Sort dialog box, click the Order control’s dropdown list and choose the appropriate custom sort.

3. Click OK.

Custom sorting in Excel, the list doesn’t have to contain all of the sort elements to work. A list of a few months can still sort by month order.  

Feel Tips - Create a Custom Sort in Excel

Learn how to create a custom sort for unique sorting needs that alphabetic and numeric sorts just can’t handle.

In the last article “How to Custom Sort in Excel” we discussed special sorting solutions which don’t follow alphabetic and numeric order. There are four of these special sorting solutions built-in Excel custom sorts. For most of time, they are not enough. Fortunately, Excel enables you to create a custom sort if it’s necessary. For example, if you want to identify temperatures by Cold, Warm and Hot, but alphabetic sort would make it by Cold, Hot and Warm. However, you can create a custom sort to make it sort as your wish.

Now, let’s create a custom sort in this case of temperature. In Excel 2010, just follow the steps below: 

1. Go to the File tab and select Options (under Help).

2. In the left pane, select Advanced.

3. In the General section, click Edit Custom Lists.

4. After we are in List Entries control, enter each element in the sort order as you wish. Press Enter after each entry. (If the list is long or already exists as natural data, you can specify the cell reference and click Import). 

5. Click button Add, as the image shows below, Excel will transfer the new custom sort order to the Custom Lists control (on the left).   

6. After that Click OK twice.

In Excel 2007, there is a bit different:

1. Click the Office button and click Excel Options.
2. In the left pane, click Popular (the default).
3. In the Top Options For Working With Excel section, click the Edit Custom Lists button.
4. Continue with step 4 above in Excel 2010.

To apply the custom sort, select the list you want to sort, click the Data tab, and then click Sort in the Sort & Filter group. Click the Order dropdown, choose Custom Lists, and select the Cold, Warm, Hot list.

If you are using Excel 2003, you can create custom sort by following the steps below:

1. Go to Options from the Tools menu.
2. Click the Custom Lists tab.
3. Continue with step 4 above in Excel 2010.

To apply the custom sort in Excel 2003, select the list, and choose Sort from the Data menu. Click the Options button, choose the custom sort from the First Key Sort Order dropdown, and click OK twice.

When you create a custom sort list, it’s not just for the one you are working but for all workbooks. Custom lists are stored in the Windows Registry which means it can’t be used on other computers. However, if you’re working with the same workbook, the list itself is available. If you want to add the created new custom sort to a local system’s registry, you can open the Custom Lists dialog box, select the list in the Custom Lists control and click button Add.