Introduction
lists can be created using several different list-making environments. These may be nested up to four deep. Each item in the list, regardless of type, is declared with the \item command.
Unordered Lists
Bullet lists are unordered (unnumbered) lists produced by the itemize environment. The default bullet style for level 1 is a filled circle. For example:
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\begin{itemize} \item The first item \item The second item \item The third etc \ldots \end{itemize} |
Change Latex Lists: Bullet Styles
The default label scheme for a multi-layered itemized list is:
- Level 1: \textbullet (•),
- Level 2: \textendash (–) ,
- Level 3: \textasteriskcentered (*)
- Level 4: \textperiodcentered (·)
To redefine the label use one of the next commands, depending on the level of list mark you intend to change:
- Level1: labelitemi
- Level2: labelitemii
- Level3: labelitemiii
- level4: labelitemiv
Bullet label schemes can be changed on a go forward basis by redefining the commands that typeset them. Redefinition is achieved using \renewcommand{} for a specific list levels. For example, the following code changes Level 1 to a black square and Level 2 to a white square:
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\renewcommand{\labelitemi}{$\blacksquare$} \renewcommand\labelitemii{$\square$} \begin{itemize} \item First Level \begin{itemize} \item Second Level \begin{itemize} \item Third Level \begin{itemize} \item Fourth Level \end{itemize} \end{itemize} \end{itemize} \end{itemize} |
The symbols used here belong to the amssymb package, which must be added to the preamble with \usepackage{amssymb}. You can also change the item label for a specific row. For example:
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\begin{itemize} \item Default item label \item Default item label \item[$\square$] Custom item \end{itemize} |
Ordered Lists
Ordered list have the same syntax inside the enumerate environment. The enumerate labels consists of sequential numbers, and each numbered list starts at 1 with every call to the enumerate environment:\begin{enumerate}
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\begin{enumerate} \item The first item \item The second item \item The third etc \ldots \end{enumerate} |
Descriptive Lists
The description environment is slightly different. The item label can be specified by passing it as an optional argument. Descriptive lists are often used to make a glossary:
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\begin{description} \item[First] The first item \item[Second] The second item \item[Third] The third etc \ldots \end{description} |
It is also possible to generate a description list where the list label and the list text begin on different lines. This cannot be done easily using standard line breaks, such as \\.
The trick is to use \hfill, as shown below:
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\begin{description} \item[First] \hfill \\ The first item \item[Second] \hfill \\ The second item \item[Third] \hfill \\ The third etc \ldots \end{description} |
Nested Lists
In
, you can create nested lists by inserting a list inside another. The above list types may be combined, either mixed or of one type. Nesting beyond 4 levels requires use of the easylist package.
The example at right is created using the following code:
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\begin{enumerate} \item The first item \begin{enumerate} \item Nested item 1 \item Nested item 2 \end{enumerate} \item The second item \item The third etc \ldots \end{enumerate} |
The default numbering scheme is:
- Level 1: Arabic number (1, 2, 3, …) which uses \arabic,
- Level 2: Lowercase letter (a, b, c, …), which uses \alph,
- Level 3: Lowercase Roman numeral (i, ii, iii, …) which uses \roman,
- Level 4: Uppercase letter (A, B, C, …) which uses \Alph.
It is also possible to change the number formats as follows:
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\renewcommand{\theenumii}{\Roman{enumii}} |
In this case, level 2 labels are changed to Roman (I, II, III, …). For other levels, substitute the following for theenumii. The command must be placed in the preamble to change the labels globally or right before \begin{enumerate}
to change labels only in this list:
- Level1: \theenumi
- Level2: \theenumii
- Level3: \theenumiii
- Level4: \theenumiv
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