[Partially solved] Default bulleted list button behavior

[UfficioLibero]

Hello to all,

I am going crazy trying to succeed in what I am about to explain to you.
I’m trying to set up my Writer template so that when I hit the bulleted list button in the top bar, the bulleted list looks exactly the way I manually set it each time (with the spacing I choose, the symbols I choose, etc.). I know, it’s not a fundamental thing, but I’m extremely picky, and although I have set the default style of the bulleted list, he instead puts the indents as the hell he likes… it makes me mad.
So: is there a way to set the default behavior (spacing, indentation, leading, etc.) of the bulleted list button on the top bar of the screen?

Thanks in advance to anyone who wants to give me a hand!

[ajlittoz]

No. This is a design flaw in Writer. Customised Format>Bullets & Numbering and Tools>Chapter Numbering are not saved, neither in the user profile, nor in any template. There is already a bug report on this issue since quite a long time.

What you should do is to work in “profesional” Writer way with styles.

Instead of relying on the formatting offered by the toolbar button(s), you should create your own styles for your lists. This requires to design one list style (in fact a sequence counter and its formatting) and one paragraph style (for the list item appearance).

To start with, I suggest you play with the built-in styles. Since you are interested with bulleted lists, you can use Bullet • as the list style. For the paragraph style, you need to modifiy List 1.

• open the side style pane with F11 or Format>Manage Styles if not already visible

• right-click on List 1 and Modify

• in the Outline & Numbering tab, select Bullet • from the Numbering style: menu

• in the Indents & Spacing tab, adjust the Spacing Above and Below to your taste

  Don’t set any Indent here or you’ll create chaos.

Now, instead of clicking on the toolbar button when you want to add a list item, select List 1 from the paragraph drop-down menu (or double-click on List 1 in the style pane the first time – this will add the style to the menu). You can also associate a keyboard shortcut if you like.

You’ll probably dissatisfied with the indents and alignment. These settings are in the Bullet • list style. To access them, click on the fifth icon in the style pane toolbar to list the list styles. Right-click on Bullet • and Modify. Play only with the Position and Customize tabs. Any click in the others will reset all parameters in the mentioned tabs and you’ll have to restart your customisation from scratch.

For more information read the chapters about styles in the Writer Guide.

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[UfficioLibero]

First of all, thank you very much for your complete reply!
By then, I had already made the various changes to the Bullet • and Numbering 123 styles, and in fact I was fully satisfied with them. But I was annoyed having to go and look for them and click them every time through the styles tab (instead of simply pressing the dedicated list button in the toolbar).
Thank you even more though, for the suggestion to also modify List 1 (and Numbering 1): in fact, by doing so, I can quickly choose the correct type of list from the Styles drop-down menu. True, it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but it’s still very fast and correct. Thanks again!

[ajlittoz]

You’re welcome.