How to add automatic paragraph numbering in MS Word

ms office

I often "reverse outline" my work by printing out my file, numbering the paragraphs by hand, and then making an "outline" of my essay/piece which then will help me to conceptualize what I am doing – and how to rework it. Is there a way to automatically add numbers for paragraphs in Word so I don't have to do it by hand? I know that you can add automatic numbering for lines but I can't figure out how to do it for paragraphs.

Best Answer

Use the built-in Heading paragraph styles: apply these to your headings, and they will be numbered automatically. If you do this you can also generate a table of contents (to use as your outline).