Using Numbered Lists for Captions in InDesign

Erica Gamet

4

Bullets and Numbering options in InDesign aren’t just for boring lists. You can auto-number items like captions, even incorporating prefixes like figure labels. Depending on how your document is set up, there are two ways to achieve this. Both involve setting up a paragraph style that incorporates numbering from the Bullets and Numbering feature. Generally I create a temporary text frame—often on my pasteboard—and set some items to create my style, pasting the text into my actual caption frames after the fact.

In the numbered paragraph style

• Set the numbering format (e.g. 1,2,3,4).
• In the number field type “Figure” (without quotes) followed by a space.
• Next choose “Current Level” from the “Insert Number Placeholder” from the pull-down menu to auto insert the next number in the sequence.
• Next type a space, then a dash, followed by a space.

Setting up the automatic numbering.

In the temporary text frame

• Apply the new paragraph style.
• Type just the information for each specific caption (Taos, Maroon Bells, etc. in the example).

Setting the list in a temporary frame allows you to view the list in order.

When using a series of linked text frames

• Copy the text from the temporary text frame.
• Paste into the first linked caption frame.
• Select all of the text, and choose “Keep Options” from the Paragraph panel menu.
• Select “In Next Frame” from the Start Paragraph pull-down menu to force each caption to its own frame.
• Create and apply a new paragraph style to the text.
• If you need to re-order the items, select all the text, copy and paste it into the temporary frame, re-order, and copy/paste back into the linked frames. TIP: Re-assign the original paragraph style in the temporary frame so that all your items are in that one frame.

Captions set in threaded text frames.

When using separate (non-linked) text frames

• A numbered list by default will start the numbering over in a new text frame.
• Create a new paragraph style similar to the one above.
• Under the List pull-down menu in Bullets and Numbering, choose New List, and give the list a name.
• By assigning a list style here, the numbering can continue across stories and even documents in a book.
• Make sure you don’t have the keep options set to start in the next frame.

Captions across separate stories without creating a list.

Creating a list allows numbering across stories and book documents.

Issues with the non-linked frame method

• The order of the numbering is set by the order in which the caption text frames were created.
• To re-assign the creation order, select the item you want to be first, cut, then paste in place.
• Continue cutting and pasting in place in the new order and the numbering will update accordingly.

Numbering across stories follows creation order. Re-arranging frames requires some extra work.

Cutting and pasting each caption frame in place resets the creation order and the auto numbering.