Numbered Lists - Continuing one or restarting one at a chosen number

Question

I have read two discussions on this issue but they are a few years old.  So I thought I'd bring it up again to see if there were any new solutions found to the problem.

We do a lot of documentation; step-by-step instructions with images, tables, etc.  We also frequently use two column layouts.  I've figured out the Shift+Enter to insert a blank line for an image and then Enter to continue the numbered list. That is a big help.  However, what I still need is an easy way for a beginner, tech writer type person who does not know macros and html, to start a list at number say 4.  For example, in a two column layout:

1. step one                                                  4.  step four

2. step two                                                  image

image                                                          5.  step five

3. step 3

Has anyone come up with a straight-forward way to do this that does not involve having a software engineering degree?

Thank you!

Kimberly Giere · Answer

Hello again Ann.  Thank you for adding this functionality.  We do all of our documentation on Confluence and need to use various layouts to present the information in the most usable way.  Examples are two column layout, collapsible sections (often with multiple columns in a section), and inserted tables.  The ability to control numbering would be a huge help to us.  Currently, we do not use the automated numbering feature on complicated layouts; we have to number manually.  Manual numbering is fine, but it does introduce a risk of formatting error when edits are done as well as being labor-intensive when an entire long article needs to be manually re-numbered from the point of change forward.

AnnWorley · Answer

Hi Kimberly,

I haven't found an elegant way to continue numbered lists in columns or after inserting other content. I found that we have a request open to add that functionality to the editor - please vote or comment to emphasize your use case to the development team:

Cloud: Allow the number list to continue in case a different format is inserted between the number list

Server: Allow the number list to continue in case a different format is inserted between the number list

Thanks,

Ann