WD2000: Changes to List Styles May Be Lost (211415)

SYMPTOMS

When you make changes to any of the tab or indent attributes of the List Number or List Bullet styles, those changes may be lost when you close and restart Word. This problem occurs even if you selected the Add to Template option in the Modify Style dialog box (on the Format menu, click Style, and then click Modify.)

CAUSE

This functionality is by design. The bullets and numbering feature in Word is dependent on the tab and indent attributes of the List Number and List Bullet styles. If the tab or indent attributes of these styles are changed, the bullets and numbering feature may work incorrectly. To prevent this from happening, Word resets the tab and indent attributes to their default settings every time you start Word.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, you can create and use a custom style instead of a List style.

NOTE: Do not base the custom style on any of the List styles. For additional information, see the following article or articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

212223 WD2000: Format of List Style Unexpectedly Removed

For more information about creating a new custom style, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type Create a new style in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

MORE INFORMATION

The built-in styles that exhibit the above problem are:

List Bullet
List Bullet 2
List Bullet 3
List Bullet 4
List Bullet 5
List Number
List Number 2
List Number 3
List Number 4
List Number 5