Lists

This group builds bullet and numbered lists in a PDF: inserting a whole list from a set of items, appending a single item to the list you are building, adding an indented sub-list, restarting the numbering of a numbered list, and choosing the bullet symbol used at each list level.

Prerequisite: before using the list-building instructions, the workflow must already have a PDF created (with Create PDF). Set Bullet Symbol is the exception — it is a global setting that changes the bullet character for all future lists and does not need a document.

These concepts recur across several instructions in this group; they are explained here once.

• Document: indicates which document in the workflow the instruction applies to. If left empty, the current document is used. If the document doesn’t exist (or is not a PDF), the instruction simply does nothing. (Set Bullet Symbol has no Document field because it is a global setting.)

• The bullet takes the document’s font. Unless Set Bullet Symbol chooses another one, the bullet of every level is drawn in the font of the document’s normal text.

• Items separated by |: the Insert Bullet List, Insert Numbered List, and Insert Nested List instructions take several items in a single field, written one after another and separated by a vertical bar | — for example Apples|Oranges|Pears produces three list entries. Surrounding spaces around each item are trimmed.

• Level (1–3): lists support three indentation levels. Level 1 is the outermost; levels 2 and 3 are progressively more indented sub-levels. Any value other than 2 or 3 is treated as level 1.

• Dynamic values (@name): in a text field (the items, the item text, the bullet character, the font name) you can type @ followed by the name of a value saved earlier in the workflow, and it will be replaced by that value.

• Save a result (Save item count): Insert Bullet List and Insert Numbered List can save how many items were added into a named value, so a later instruction can reuse it. Leave it empty not to save anything.

• “From variable” fields: the @name trick only works in text fields. The numeric Level field has a companion “from variable” field:

  • If you leave it empty, the value typed in the normal Level field is used.
  • If you fill it in with the name of a saved value, the engine ignores the normal field and reads the level from that variable.

  This is mainly for chaining instructions. If you only work with fixed values, you can ignore these fields.

• Insert Bullet List .pdf
• Insert List Item .pdf
• Insert Nested List .pdf
• Insert Numbered List .pdf
• Reset Numbered List .pdf
• Set Bullet Symbol .pdf

Insert Bullet List .pdf

Inserts a bullet list made of one or more items.

When to use it: to add an unordered (bulleted) list to the PDF in a single step.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Items	The list entries, separated by |. Supports @name	Item 1|Item 2|Item 3	Yes
Level	Indentation level, 1–3	1	No
Level (from variable)	Reads the level from a saved value	(empty)	No
Save item count	Name under which to save how many items were added	(empty)	No

Important behavior: if the Items field is empty, nothing is inserted. The items are added as one continuous bullet list at the chosen level. If a Save item count name is given, the number of items added is saved under it.

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Insert List Item .pdf

Appends a single item to the list you are currently building, continuing it.

When to use it: to add one more entry to a list one item at a time (for example inside a loop), instead of providing all items at once.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Text	The text of the item to add. Supports @name	New item	Yes
Numbered	Yes = add it as a numbered item; No = as a bullet	No	No
Level	Indentation level, 1–3	1	No
Numbered (from variable)	Reads the yes/no value from a saved value	(empty)	No
Level (from variable)	Reads the level from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: if the Text field is empty, nothing is added. The item continues the previous list, so it joins the list already being built rather than starting a new one. Numbered selects whether it is a numbered or a bulleted entry.

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Insert Nested List .pdf

Inserts an indented sub-list (a level-2 list) under the current list item.

When to use it: to nest a group of sub-items beneath a list entry (for example sub-points under a main point).

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Items	The sub-list entries, separated by |. Supports @name	Sub-item 1|Sub-item 2	Yes
Numbered	Yes = numbered sub-list; No = bulleted sub-list	No	No
Numbered (from variable)	Reads the yes/no value from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: if the Items field is empty, nothing is inserted. The items are added as a level-2 (indented) list; Numbered chooses between a numbered or a bulleted sub-list.

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Insert Numbered List .pdf

Inserts a numbered list made of one or more items.

When to use it: to add an ordered (1, 2, 3…) list to the PDF in a single step.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Items	The list entries, separated by |. Supports @name	Item 1|Item 2|Item 3	Yes
Level	Indentation level, 1–3	1	No
Level (from variable)	Reads the level from a saved value	(empty)	No
Save item count	Name under which to save how many items were added	(empty)	No

Important behavior: if the Items field is empty, nothing is inserted. The items are added as one continuous numbered list at the chosen level. If a Save item count name is given, the number of items added is saved under it.

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Reset Numbered List .pdf

Restarts the numbering of the last numbered list back to 1.

When to use it: when you have added a second numbered list after some other content and want its counter to start over at 1 rather than continue from the previous list.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No

Important behavior: it finds the most recent group of consecutive numbered items in the document and makes it start counting again from 1. If there is no numbered list, it does nothing. (This engine only supports restarting at 1, not starting from an arbitrary number.)

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Set Bullet Symbol .pdf

Chooses the bullet character used for a given list level.

When to use it: to change the symbol shown in front of bullet items (for example a dash - or an arrow instead of the default dot) at a chosen level.

Parameter	Meaning	Default	Required
Document	Document the instruction applies to	(current document)	No
Level	The list level whose bullet you are setting, 1–3	1	No
Character	The bullet character to use. Supports @name	•	Yes
Font name	The font the bullet character is taken from. Supports @name	Symbol	Yes
Level (from variable)	Reads the level from a saved value	(empty)	No

Important behavior: the symbol applies to this document only, and to every bullet list in it at that level — no matter whether the lists were added before or after this instruction, because the symbol is applied when the PDF is written. Other documents in the same workflow keep their own bullets. If either the Character or the Font name is empty, nothing changes. Only the first character of the Character field is used. A Level other than 1, 2, or 3 is treated as 1. A symbol font (Symbol, Wingdings, Webdings) only holds the ordinary keyboard characters; a bullet beyond them — like the default • — is drawn in the document’s font instead of as an empty box.

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