MacXL: How to Create a Bullet List in Microsoft Excel (125724)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel X for Mac
  • Microsoft Excel 2001 for Mac
  • Microsoft Excel 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q125724
For a Microsoft Excel for Windows version of this article, see 323567.

SUMMARY

Microsoft Excel does not have a built-in function to add a bullet item to entries in a worksheet. However, you can add bullets to text, or you can create a custom text format that includes bullets, so that you can format the cells and add text later.

MORE INFORMATION

To Add a Bullet to an Existing Text Entry

  1. Position the insertion point at the beginning of your text entry.
  2. Type a symbol that you want to use as a bullet. To create the bullet character, press OPTION+8.

    You may want to include a space after the character so that the bullet will not be next to the text. Note that the bullet is an extended character and may not be available with all fonts.

    Some other examples of characters you can use include: >, /, ~, !, and others.

To Create a Custom Text Format That Includes Bullets

  1. Select the cell or range of cells that you want to apply bullets to.
  2. On the Format menu, click Cells.
  3. On the Number tab, click the Text category, and then click the Custom category.

    Microsoft Excel places an at sign (@) in the Type box.
  4. In the Type box, place the insertion point before the @, and type the symbol that you want to use as a bullet. To create the bullet character, press OPTION+8.

    You may want to include a space after the symbol so that the bullet will not be next to the text. Note that the bullet is an extended character and may not be available with all fonts.

    Some other examples of characters you can use include: >, /, ~, !, and others.
  5. Click OK.
Text that you type in cells that are formatted with this custom format will have the bullet applied to them.

REFERENCES

For more information about extended characters, click Key Caps on the Apple menu. If you are using a Macintosh with Mac OS X or later, double-click Key Caps in the Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities folder.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/11/2002
Keywords:kbinfo KB125724
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.