OOo Off the Wall: It's Numbering, but Not as We Know It

Like any word processor, OpenOffice.org's Writer automatically adds
numbers and bullets to paragraphs for you. Unlike typical word processors,
however, Writer does not make lists a part of paragraph styles. Instead,
lists have styles of their own. These styles are called numbering
styles. It's a rather misleading term, though, because it refers to
both numbered and bulleted lists, but never mind.

By splitting lists and paragraphs, Writer gains several advantages. First,
the split removes many users' confusion regarding whether they are
configuring lists or paragraphs. Second, it is more economical, because
one list style can be applied to multiple paragraph styles instead of
defining the same format separately for each paragraph. Third, and most
important of all, separating list styles from paragraph styles gives
list options more room for custom settings without burying them
deep in the menus.

In addition, Writer's numbering styles are more dependable. Unlike
other word processors, Writer places bullets and numbers in fields, which
is why they display in a gray backgrounds in your document (select File
-> Page Preview to see how they'll look when you print). One of the uses
of fields is for variable information. So, by using fields for lists,
Writer makes its lists more or less immune to corruption. For example,
if you want to:

• interrupt list items with unnumbered lines or
  styles
• place one type of list between two items in another list (for example,
  bullets between numbered items)
• move a numbered item to another place in the
  list

you usually can do so without problems. In fact, Writer encourages you to
do so by offering a custom tool bar for lists.

Accessible in several ways, Writer's numbering styles are both highly
convenient and highly customizable. Not only do they give you the tools
to create several types of lists, but you also can use the same tools
for a time-saving trick or two.
Using Automatics Lists
You can use automatic lists in several ways:

• Manual application: Select Format -> Numbering/Bullets from the menu
  or the Numbering On/Off button in the Object tool bar. This method is
  suitable mainly for short documents and default settings. If you use
  an elaborate setup, you'll either have to recreate it or copy and
  paste each time you use it.
• Autocorrection: Type the first number or bullet and add contents. When
  you press the Enter key for the next paragraph, Writer recognizes that you
  are making a list. The number or bullet in the first paragraph is placed
  in a field, and one is added to the next paragraph automatically. If
  this feature does not work, check that Tools ->
  AutoCorrect/AutoFormat -> Options -> Apply numbering - symbol: * is turned on.
• Semi-automatic application: Create a numbering
  style and then apply it to paragraphs as you choose.
• Automatic application: Associate the numbering style with a paragraph
  style on the paragraph style's Numbering tab. Whenever the paragraph
  is used, it is numbered unless you turn off numbering with the numbering
  tool bar. Give both the numbering and paragraph style the same name,
  so that you can see at a glance that they're
  associated.

For your own convenience, automatic application is recommended.
Types of Lists
Numbering styles support three different types of lists:

• Numbered Lists: lists in which the order matters, such as a recipe,
  or the steps in a technical manual.
• Bulleted Lists: lists in which the order is unimportant. For example,
  in the list you're reading now, the order in which you read the list
  items doesn't matter. You won't lose data or suffer grievous bodily harm
  if you don't read them in order.
• -Outline Numbering: an outlining method that uses a single paragraph
  style. I call this method single-style outlining to differentiate it
  from the type of outline numbering available in Tools -> Outline numbering,
  which is something quite different.

In addition, you can use numbering lists for a couple of tricks that do
not directly involve lists.

Bulleted and numbered lists each have five numbering styles
pre-defined. For bullets, they're called List, while for ordered
lists they're called Numbering. These styles are useful as examples
and have corresponding paragraph styles pre-defined to which they can be
assigned. However, descriptive names, such as lower case letters in
blue, are much more convenient.

Each of the three types of lists has at least one tab in the numbering
styles window from which you can choose a pre-defined design. In addition,
bullets have the Graphics tab. If you want to customize styles, however,
your main concerns are the Position and the Options tabs. The Position
tab includes similar settings for all types of lists.

However, if you want to customize your lists, the Options tab is
the one that matters. Its available options change with the type of list
you're making.
Positioning Options for Lists
The Position tab contains options for how list items are positioned on a
line of text. The tab's options especially are important for single-style
outline numbering. However, all list types can use the options on the
Position tab:

• Indent: sets the space between the numbering field and the start of
  the line. If the style uses outline numbering, select the Relative box
  to set the indent in relation to the start of the line in the previous
  level of the hierarchy. Based on HTML, many users automatically indent a
  list from the text body paragraphs. However, habit seems to be the only reason
  for this practice. There often is no reason why a top-level list should
  have an indent. Sub-lists can be indented to show their relation to the
  top level list, but even that is not always necessary. Often, the change
  in numbering format is enough.
• Spacing to text: the distance between the numbering field and the start
  of the text. If this option is not used, then the starting position of
  the text shifts when the number of digits in a numbered list changes
  (for example, when changing to two digit numbers at 10). This setting
  takes some fiddling to get right. Too little spacing looks cramped
  but too much disassociates the bullets or numbers from the list
  items.
• Position -> Minimum space numbering ->
  text: set a minimum distance
  between the number and the start of the text in the first line. The other
  lines in the paragraph either are aligned with the text or use the
  setting in the Spacing to text field. If the option is used, the starting
  position of the text shifts when the number of digits changes in the
  list.
• Numbering alignment: how the number or bullet is positioned in its
  field. Although this option has some use in complex layouts, especially
  when dealing with large numbers, for the most part you can leave it at
  the default setting of Left and ignore it.

Making a Custom Numbered List
If you want to create a numbered list quickly, you can select the style
from the Numbering style tab. The pre-defined choices for numbered lists
often are all that you need. For anything out of the ordinary,
go directly to the Options tab and use these settings:

• Numbering: set the numbering format. Arabic numbers, upper and lower
  case Roman numerals and letters are all available.
• Before / After: sets the characters before and after the number. For
  example, before the number you might want Chapter, while after the
  number a simple period or parentheses might do.
• Character style: the character style used for formatting numbers. In
  a simple document, you can use the default Numbering symbol. However,
  if you are using differently formatted numbered lists, you should create
  a different character style for each format.
• Start at: The number at which numbered lists should start. This is
  also the number that a paragraph reverts to when you select the Restart
  Numbering button on the List Mode tool bar.

Making a Bullet Style
You can select a pre-defined bullet from the Bullet tab. If you want
something more elaborate, you can select a bullet from the Graphics
tab. These bullets are the same ones found in Tools ->
Gallery -> Bullets. The bullets on the Graphics tab are most suitable
for on-line work, but I suggest you avoid using them. As a friend
remarked, the available choices are "so mid-Nineties" that they seem
quaint. Fortunately, more interesting tools are available on the
Options tab.

If you select Bullets in the Numbering field, you then can select the
character style to use and the particular character for the bullet. In
an ordinary font, you can select various characters for a
bullet. However, if you set the character style to a dingbat set--a font
in which characters are replaced by pictures--you can be even
more creative. Just remember that if you open the document on another
machine, it needs to have the same dingbat font to depict the bullets properly.

Incidentally, if your document might be opened in MS Word, change
the character style to one that MS Word can access. The
default Bullets character style uses StarSymbol to create bullets and
generally is not available to MS Word. Alternatively, you might want to
use the Adobe Type Manager in Windows to load StarSymbol.

You also can create a bullet style by selecting Graphics or Linked
Graphics in the Numbering field. Selecting Graphics embeds the graphic you
select in the document, while Linked Graphics references the separate
graphics file. Which one to select depends on circumstances, but
basically, you should select Graphics to keep the document self-contained
or Linked Graphics to control file size.

In both cases, the choice of graphic for a bullet deserves some
thought. In most cases, the graphic is going to display at a relatively
small size, so too complex a picture is out. Similarly, if the document
is printed in black and white, the contrasts of a colored graphic
probably are going to be lost. Usually, you'll want a simple graphic
with strong contrasts in colors.

In both cases, too, the options are the same. Once you select the
graphic, you can adjust its display width and height, selecting the Keep
Ratio box to keep the proportions the same. You also can use Alignment
to change how the graphic sits on the baseline. Be prepared for some
experimentation before you find the best way to display the graphic as a
bullet. Too large a graphic can distort the lines in the list item, while
too small a graphic may be invisible and therefore not worth using at all.
Making an Outline Numbering Style
To create an outline numbering style, select one of the pre-defined
formats on the Outline tab. If you only need three to five outline levels,
one of the pre-defined formats may be all you need. However, if you
need more, move directly to the Options tab. There, your choices
are the same as for a numbering style. The difference is that you can
make the choices for each outline level, selecting the one to work on
from the list on the left of the window. If you want, you also can set
the options in the Positioning tab separately for each outline level.

By default, each outline level starts at the number set in the Start
at field. However, if you want numbering to continue from level to level,
you can select All levels -> Consecutive numbering instead.

As an alternative to defining each outline level separately, select 1-10
as the level and define the style once. Then, associate it with a new
paragraph style, and use the Condition tab of the paragraph style to
format each outline level with an existing paragraph style, such as the
Headings 1-10. This alternative usually is much faster to do than formatting
each outline level separately.
Applying Lists
No matter how you apply numbering styles, as soon as you start a list,
Writer switches to list mode. List mode is marked by its own tool bar that
slides out from the blue arrow on the right of the Object tool bar. This
tool can get lost if you are placing a list in a table, which has its
own tool bar, but keep clicking on the blue arrow, and you'll get to it.

List mode's tool bar contains the functions you need for managing
lists. Many of the buttons on the tool bar are for single-style
outline numbering. These tools are similar to those for headings on the
Navigator, allowing you to change the level of the current paragraph
and reposition it. Frankly, though, they're not as well organized on the
tool bar. Moreover, outline numbering usually is easier to manage using
the Tab key to descend an outline level and Shift+Tab to ascend a level.

Interspersed with the outline numbering buttons are three basic buttons:

• Numbering On/Off (first button from left): turns numbering off
  entirely. If you're using numbering styles attached to paragraph styles,
  you don't need this button. Instead, change paragraph styles to one that
  doesn't use numbering.
• Insert Unnumbered Entry (fifth button from
  left): turns numbering off for
  the current paragraph only. The start of the current paragraph is aligned
  with the text of other list items. This tool removes the necessity of
  creating a paragraph style subordinate to a numbered paragraph style,
  but without the numbering.
• Restart numbering (second button from right): resets the current
  paragraph to the start of the numbering sequence. Usually, the start is
  one, but you can set the numbering style to start at any point on the
  Options tab.

Armed with these buttons, you can wrangle any list that you care to
create.
Tricks with Numbering Lists
Outline numbering can be used for more than lists. A bullet style
with a graphic can be used as any sort of recurring graphic, such as
a Warning in technical documentation. The graphic can be placed beside
text or in a separate paragraph above it. However, if it's placed
in a separate paragraph, leave a space after it. Otherwise, Writer
detects the paragraph as blank and, unhelpfully, deletes the graphic.
Numbering styles also can be used as an alternative to autotext. Set the
Numbering on the Options tab to None, and enter up to fifty characters
of text in each of the Before and After fields. As with a recurring
graphic, you need to add a space each time you use the paragraph
style to which the autotext is assigned.
Conclusion
Occasionally, you may notice a momentary stumble in OpenOffice.org's
handling of lists. An especially common one seems to occur when changing
from one list style to another. However, these stumbles always correct
themselves after two or three presses of the return key. In the worst
cases, applying another style then reapplying the numbering style corrects
any problem. Far more frequently, the lists are trouble-free.

This robustness is one of Writer's main advantages over MS Word, whose
lists inevitably become hopelessly jumbled if you do any of these
tasks. In fact, the way to overcome these problems in MS Word is to
forget about automatic lists and manually place bullets and numbers in
fields. With OpenOffice.org Writer, however, you have the convenience
of automatic lists and the stability of fields automatically. If you're
a compulsive list-maker, like me, you'll be surprised at the time you
save because of this single difference.

Bruce Byfield was a manager at Stormix Technologies and Progeny
Linux Systems and a Contributing Editor at Maximum
Linux. Away from his
desktop, he listens to punk-folk music, raises parrots and runs long,
painful distances of his own free will. He currently is writing a book
on OpenOffice.org.