LaTeX Lists: Itemize, Enumerate, and Description

Lists in LaTeX

Lists organize information clearly. LaTeX offers three main list types.

Bulleted Lists (itemize)

\begin{itemize} \item First item \item Second item \item Third item \end{itemize}

Renders as: • First item • Second item • Third item

Numbered Lists (enumerate)

\begin{enumerate} \item First item \item Second item \item Third item \end{enumerate}

Renders as: 1. First item 2. Second item 3. Third item

Description Lists

For term-definition pairs:

\begin{description} \item[Term 1] Definition of term 1. \item[Term 2] Definition of term 2. \end{description}

Nested Lists

Lists can be nested up to 4 levels:

\begin{itemize} \item Main item \begin{itemize} \item Subitem \begin{itemize} \item Sub-subitem \end{itemize} \end{itemize} \end{itemize}

Bullet styles change automatically: Level 1: • Level 2: – Level 3: * Level 4: ·

Customizing with enumitem

\usepackage{enumitem}

Change Bullet Style

\begin{itemize}[label=$\star$] \item Star bullet \end{itemize}

Common labels: $\bullet$ — bullet $\circ$ — circle $\star$ — star $\diamond$ — diamond -- — dash $\checkmark$ — checkmark

Change Number Style

\begin{enumerate}[label=(\alph*)] \item Item a \item Item b \end{enumerate}

Number formats: \arabic* — 1, 2, 3 \alph* — a, b, c \Alph* — A, B, C \roman* — i, ii, iii \Roman* — I, II, III

Starting Number

\begin{enumerate}[start=5] \item This is item 5 \end{enumerate}

Resume Numbering

\begin{enumerate}[resume] \item Continues from previous list \end{enumerate}

Spacing

Compact Lists

\begin{itemize}[noitemsep] \item Tight spacing \item Between items \end{itemize}

No Top/Bottom Margins

\begin{itemize}[nosep] \item No extra space \end{itemize}

Custom Spacing

\begin{itemize}[itemsep=1ex] \item More space \item Between items \end{itemize}

Inline Lists

\usepackage[inline]{enumitem}

\begin{enumerate*}[label=(\arabic*)] \item First, \item second, \item third. \end{enumerate*}

Renders as: (1) First, (2) second, (3) third.

Left Margin

\begin{itemize}[leftmargin=*] \item Minimal indentation \end{itemize}

\begin{itemize}[leftmargin=2cm] \item Custom indentation \end{itemize}

Global Settings

Set defaults for all lists:

\setlist{noitemsep} — compact all lists

\setlist[itemize]{label=--} — all itemize use dashes

\setlist[enumerate,1]{label=\arabic*)} — level 1 numbered

Multi-column Lists

\usepackage{multicol}

\begin{multicols}{2} \begin{itemize} \item Item 1 \item Item 2 \item Item 3 \item Item 4 \end{itemize} \end{multicols}

Create Lists with Octree

Octree makes lists easy:

- Visual list formatting - Smart indentation - Preview changes instantly - Export polished PDFs

Try it at https://useoctree.com