Bullet list

A bullet list is a set of points where the order does not matter: what to bring, who is invited, what is new in a release. Each point gets its own line and a bullet, so a reader takes them in at a glance instead of digging them out of a paragraph.

Insert it

Type the command at the start of an empty line, press Enter and type the first point. Press Enter for each next point, and Enter on an empty point to finish the list.

• Markdown: a hyphen, -, or * or +, followed by a space at the start of a line.

• Toolbar: the Bullet list button (on a phone, in the Aa Style menu). With several paragraphs selected, it makes each one a point.

• Keyboard: Ctrl+Shift+8 (⌘+Shift+8 on a Mac).

Lists are not in the + menu, because they have their own buttons on the toolbar.

Kinds of bullet list, and when to use each

A simple list

• A laptop and its charger

• Your ID badge

• Lunch: the kitchen is being refitted this week

Things of the same kind, in no particular order. Here, what to bring on your first day.

A nested list

• Engineering

  • Platform

    • Sam Okafor

    • Jordan Brooks

  • Mobile

    • Mei Chen

• Product

  • Priya Natarajan

  • Alex Rivera

Points that belong under other points, like teams within a department. Press Tab in a point to move it under the one above, and Shift+Tab to move it back out. Each level has its own bullet (a dot, then a circle, then a square), so the levels are easy to tell apart. Lists nest as deep as you like, but two or three levels are as many as a reader can follow.

Points that start with a label

• Offline editing: pages open and save without a connection, and sync when you are back online.

• Shared folders: a whole team can work in one folder, with its own permissions.

• Faster first sync: a new laptop is ready in minutes rather than hours.

When each point needs a sentence of explanation, start it with a few words in bold, so someone skimming the list still gets the gist. This site does it all the time.

Changing and removing a list

• To end a list, press Enter on an empty point. You are back in normal text.

• To turn it back into paragraphs, select the list and press the Bullet list button or Ctrl+Shift+8 again.

• To number it instead, select it and press the Ordered list button.

Good practice

• Bullets when the order does not matter. When it does, as in steps, use an Ordered list.

• Keep the points alike. Start them all the same way, all with a noun or all with a verb, and they read as a set.

• One point, one idea. A point that runs to several sentences wants to be a paragraph.

• No list of one. A single point is a sentence.

Related elements

• Ordered list numbers the points, for steps in order.

• Task list gives each point a checkbox, for things to do.

• Table suits points that each have the same few facts about them.