The enumerate environment is used to create numbered lists; if you use this tag, add the more general lists tag. For bulleted lists, one uses the itemize environment, and for descriptive lists, one uses the description environment.

Typically, enumerate is used like this:

\begin{enumerate}
  \item The first item
  \item The second item
  \item (and so on...)
\end{enumerate}

There are a few packages for customizing the appearance of numbered lists.

1. The enumitem package (documentation) provides an interface to adjust the vertical and horizontal spacing of list items, define custom list environments, change the number/letter label of list items, and customize list numbering.
2. The paralist package (documentation) provides commands for using lists compactly within paragraphs.
3. The enumerate package (documentation) provides a concise syntax for changing how the counter is printed (numbered, lettered, etc.).

Frequently Asked Questions

• How can I start a list at a number other than 1?
• How can I change to A), B), C) instead of 1. 2. 3.?
• How can I remove the initial whitespace in the enumerate environment? (This is especially useful for making a numbered list inside a tabular environment.)
• How can I resume counting from an earlier enumerate environment?