A bullet is a black, filled-in circle or other character that marks an item on a list. When you click the Bullets button, Word puts a bullet at the start of the paragraph. Besides the standard bullet, you can use symbols as bullets. Figure 11-10 shows several ways to present a bulleted list. The following pages explain how to create a bulleted list, use unusual characters as bullets, and format a bulleted list on your own.
Figure 10: In bulleted lists, you can use almost any symbol you care to use
LEARN BY EXAMPLE: To futz around with bulleted lists, open the Figure 11-10 (Bulleted List) file on the CD that comes with this book.
To create a bulleted list, enter the items for the list, select the list, and then click the Bullets button on the Formatting toolbar. Or, to create the list as you type it, click the Bullets button and start typing.
Removing bullets from a list is easy: select the list and click the Bullets button.
If the standard round bullet that Word provides doesn't do it for you, you can use another symbol for the bullets in your list. Word offers seven kinds of bullets in the Bullets and Numbering dialog box, and if they don't do the job, you can use any symbol from the Symbol dialog box.
Follow these steps to use any one of Word seven bullet characters to mark items in a list:
1. Select the list if you've already entered it, or else place the cursor where the list is to begin.
2. Right-click and choose Bullets and Numbering.
3. If necessary, click the Bulleted tab. It is shown in Figure 11-11.
Callouts
Click to choose a new symbol for the list.
Click to choose other symbols.
Figure 11: Bullets come in all shapes—and sizes too if you click the Customize button
4. Click one of the eight boxes to choose a new symbol for the list.
5. Click OK.
NOTE: After you choose a new character for bulleted
lists, it becomes the default bullet character. Click the Bullets button and
you get the symbol you chose, not the standard round bullet. To get the
standard bullet again, open the Bullets and Numbering dialog box and choose it
on the Bulleted tab.
To use a character for lists apart from the seven on the Bulleted tab of the Bullets and Numbering dialog box, follow these steps:
1. Right-click and choose Bullets and Numbering.
2. If necessary, click the Bulleted tab (see Figure 11-11).
3. Click the box that holds the bullets you are least likely to need. Take this step because, when you are done choosing a new character for bulleted lists, it will appear on the Bulleted tab and take the place of the box you click in this step. Therefore, click a box whose bullets you don't care for.
4. Click the Customize button. You see the Customize Bulleted List dialog box shown in Figure 11-12.
Callouts
Click to change the size of the bullet.
Click to choose a new bullet.
Watch this box.
Set the position of the bullet.
Set the position of text to the side of the bullet.
Figure 12: Choosing a bullet and a bullet format of your very own for bulleted lists
5. Click the Bullet button. The Symbol dialog box appears.
6. Choose a symbol and click OK. The symbol you chose appears in the gallery of bullet characters and in the Preview box.
7. Click OK to close the Customize Bulleted List dialog box.
Besides choosing bullet characters of your own, you can format a bulleted list to your own specifications. Word lets you decide how big the bullet character is and how far it goes from the left margin. You can also decide for yourself how far from the left margin to put the text that follows the bullet.
To format a bulleted list, select the list, right-click, and choose Bullets and Numbering to open the Bullets and Numbering dialog box. Then click the Bulleted tab (see Figure 11-11), if necessary, and click the Customize button to get to the Customize Bulleted List dialog box (see Figure 11-12). Do the following in the dialog box to format bullet lists:
· Size of Bullets Click the Font button, select a point size in the Size combo box, and then click OK.
· Distance of Bullet from Left Margin Under Bullet position, enter a setting in the Indent At box to tell Word how far from the left margin to place the bullets in the list. Keep your eyes on the Preview box to see what your choices mean in real terms.
· Distance of List from Left Margin Under Text position, enter a setting in the Indent At box to tell Word how far from the left margin to place the text in the list.