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Text to List

Convert text to different list formats

About Text to List

Text to List formats a column of items, one per line, in one of three ways: a bullet list with the • character, a numbered list (1., 2., 3.), or a single line with the items separated by a comma and a space. Blank lines are skipped. Bullet and numbered lists also trim the spaces around each item, while the comma list keeps them. Use it to tidy a list copied from a spreadsheet or an email. It outputs plain text, not a Word or HTML list, and runs in your browser.

Example

Numbered list: the blank line is skipped and the spaces around Sugar are trimmed.

Items

Flour

  Sugar 
Eggs

After "Numbered list"

1. Flour
2. Sugar
3. Eggs

How to turn text into a list

  1. 1Paste your items, one per line.
  2. 2Click "Bullet list", "Numbered list", or "Comma list".
  3. 3Click "Copy" to paste the list elsewhere, or "Download" for list.txt.

Formats and limits

Formats
• item, 1. item, or item, item, item on one line
Blank lines
Skipped in all three formats
Spaces
Trimmed in Bullet list and Numbered list, kept in Comma list
Output
A single block of formatted text; the download is named list.txt

Where your text is processed

Splitting, numbering, and joining are done by a few lines of JavaScript in your browser, so your list is not uploaded. If the clipboard refuses a copy, our error log receives "Copy to the clipboard failed." with the tool name and your browser name and version, never the list. Neither the items nor the formatted result are stored after you close the page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I download the list?

Yes. "Download" saves it as list.txt, plain text in UTF-8, and on an iPhone or iPad "Save or share" appears too. There is no Word or PDF output: paste the text into your editor and apply its own list style.

Does it remove existing bullets or numbers?

No. A line that already starts with a dash or with 1. keeps it, so you would get • - item. Find and Replace can strip a dash marker that every line shares (a dash and a space replaced with nothing); numbers must be removed in your editor.

Can I choose another separator or bullet?

No. The bullet is always •, numbers are followed by a period and a space, and the comma list uses a comma and a space. For another separator, make a Comma list and replace the commas in Find and Replace.

Tips and tricks

  • ✓Comma list turns a column of email addresses into one line you can paste into the To field of a mail app that accepts comma-separated addresses.

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