Disable automatic numbering?
Asked by Darryl St_ Pierre:

We have a template in use with 2 columns and multiple rows. The rows on the left-hand column each contain a procedural step. If there is a corresponding graphic to go with a step, it is inserted in the adjacent right-hand column.

Since these are steps, we like to number them. Since each is in it's own section, the numbered list markup wont work, and numbers each as "1.".

If I manually number the first row, automatic numbering reformats it. If I then move to the next row and manually number and indent the entry, it does not reformat, and subsequently doesn't quite match the first row. The indent is different between the two.

There is no apparent way to disable the automatic numbering that occurs in Row 1. If I deselect the markup, it removes the number and indent. Further attempts to re-add the number result in automatic numbering again.

Is it truly all-or-nothing, or is there a hidden trick to disable this behavior?


Answers:
author: Shannon S
body: Hello everyone!

Thank you for following up on this question. In this example from 2019, Darryl was using the legacy editor. I can confirm that disabling autoformatting in Confluence Cloud will only disable automatic numbering in pages using the Legacy editor.

For the new editor, it's not possible to disable the automatic numbering. We logged a feature request for this below:

* [CONFCLOUD-72607](https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFCLOUD-72607) *Ability to disable auto-formatting for numbered lists*

Please add your vote to the case so we can prioritize this accordingly!

Thank you all, and take care!

Shannon


author: Shannon S
body: Hello Darryl,

Happy to help you with this. I'm trying to replicate this behavior on my own instance, but the numbering doesn't autoformat unless I use the numbered list option. I've tried this in a table as well but it does not auto-format for me.

Would you be able to show us an example of what you're talking about? You could create a test page in Confluence and record the behavior with something like [screencast-o-matic.com](https://screencast-o-matic.com) and share it here.

Regards,

Shannon

comments: author: Darryl St_ Pierre
body: Hi Shannon,

Thanks for your reply. I will look at capturing the live behavior, but thought I'd share a screenshot displaying the behavior in the meantime:

![2019-08-20_07-27-16.png](https://community.atlassian.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/63766i615776404821D5D4/image-dimensions/508x281?v=v2 "2019-08-20_07-27-16.png")

As shown, the first section is achieved by typing "1.space" (number one, period, spacebar). This automatically sets the format to numbered list, which is a common behavior in word processors. You can see that the number and the period are offset and the text is all indented the same.

The second section is the same process except using 2 instead of 1. It does NOT set the format to numbered list, and does not indent the text or offset the number from the text.

Darryl


author: Shannon S
body: Darryl,

To do it on the fly, you can hold down the option key before you hit the space button, and it won't apply the autoformatting. I just tried this on my Mac and it worked. I don't know about the same on Windows.

The setting to disable Autoformatting altogether is in your personal settings menu. Click your avatar in the bottom left-hand corner, and click **Settings** . From here, under **Your Settings** click **Editor** . There you will find the option that says **Disable** **Autoformatting**. When you disable that, Confluence will no longer autoformat anything.

I hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Shannon


author: Darryl St_ Pierre
body: Shannon,

Thanks so much for the info! I honestly never would have thought to look in Settings, as I relate it primarily to personal/Profile and frankly don't have much occasion to go in there.

Darryl


author: Shannon S
body: You're welcome, Darryl. Happy to help!

Regards,

Shannon


author: Baiyu Wang
body: disable auto formating in settings does not work!


author: Patrick Henry
body: And it's gone. As of this post, there is no option there to disable this intrusive idiotic nonsense.


Tags: cloud

confluence-cloud