Starting an enumerated list with a starting number (other than 1)

[poeticplenties]

I know it is a long time ago but I have updated Scrivener and am still having this soft return in numbered lists issue. Has it been resolved?

[AmberV]

It’s worth noting you are asking questions about lists in both Mac and Windows sub-boards, and you don’t have a platform listed in your forum profile, so it’s not really possible to say what is or isn’t the situation for you.

The two text engines are very different, where it comes to lists in particular.

That aside, the general purpose answer to “can I do X; no you can’t” type scenarios is to format the text with regular indents and tab stops, and type in the lists yourself. Using styles for this is the best way to do it, as that will keep these areas formatted correctly through compile automatically. The only reason that wouldn’t be viable is if you really need “real” lists for some reason, and then the general purpose advice is to forget about it for now, mark the text somehow, and fix it later in a word processor.

[poeticplenties]

thank you…where do i register my platform?
doing it later in word is not really an option…some of my editing clients have books of 700 pages long so i just need the lists looking right in word when i compile and email the edited versions. can one request that scrivener include a ‘continue numbering’ button on right click or in formatting or something peerhaps? thank you for replying in any case. great forum this

[AmberV]

Well the problem (on both platforms) is that we only have very limited access to how these features work. They are provided by the respective systems used to make the software. So it’s not a matter of us not wanting to add it, or not enough people requesting it, we just can’t do it.

@poeticplenties

thank you…where do i register my platform?

Click on your avatar in the top right, then the ‘person’ button along the right of that dropdown. From there you will go into Preferences, then the Profile tab, and scroll down a bit to find the Platform setting (or you can click here to jump straight to it).

[poeticplenties]

That’s a shame

Done. Thank you again

[AmberV]

All right, well now that I know you’re on the Mac version, starting a list at a certain number is a feature it provides:

1. From the list dropdown, select “Other” at the very bottom, or Format ▸ Lists ▸ Custom List..., from the main menu.
2. Select the numbering style in the middle, and the suffix punctuation (like . for a typical “1. 2. 3.” list).
3. Upon selecting a numbering style, a field will open up below, to set the starting point.

This will modify existing numbered lists as well, so you might find it easier to start with a prefab list style, and then invoke the “Other” or “Custom List” command once you’ve started it.