How it works
Paste a list and this tool will add text to each line: a prefix in front, a suffix behind, or both. Switches add numbers, quotation marks and a comma after every line but the last, and 18 presets cover the common jobs, from a bullet list to a quoted list for code. Empty lines are passed over unless you say otherwise. The result updates as you type.
Read the full guide
Prefix, suffix, or a preset to start from
Paste the list, then type what goes in front of every line in the prefix box and what goes after it in the suffix box, or tap a preset and change it from there. Spaces count: a hyphen and a space is a different prefix from a hyphen alone, so the boxes mark a space at either end. The sample opens on the dash list and runs from - tent to - biscuits, with the empty line in the middle left empty.
Numbers, letters and leading zeros
Numbering comes in three styles. Plain numbers start at 1 or wherever you tell them to. Leading zeros pad every number to the width of the last, so 120 lines run from 001 to 120 and still sort in order as text, where a plain 10 lands before 2. Letters run a) to z) and carry on with aa, ab. To put the number inside your own words, type {n} in the prefix: Item {n}: gives Item 1: tent, Item 2: pegs.
Quotation marks and commas for code
The quoted preset turns the sample into "tent", "pegs", and so on down to "biscuits", which gets no comma because it is last. Single quotation marks do the same for an SQL list. The tool does not escape a mark that is already inside a line, because the rules differ: CSV doubles it, JSON puts a backslash in front, SQL doubles the apostrophe. To put the list on one line afterwards, use remove line breaks.
- The tool adds and never checks what is there. Run the bullet preset twice and every line has two bullets, so start from the plain list each time.
- Trim removes spaces and tabs at both ends of every line before anything is added. The indent and comment presets switch it off so that code keeps its shape.
- A comma typed in the suffix box goes on every line, the last included. The trailing comma switch leaves the last line without one, as a list in code wants.
- The number on your last line equals the paragraphs figure in the paragraph counter: both count the lines that have something on them.
- One line break at the very end of a pasted list is not treated as a line, so no stray bullet or extra number appears under the list.
Questions and answers
How do I add text to the beginning of every line?
Paste the lines and type the text in the prefix box. It appears in front of every line at once, spaces included. The suffix box does the same for the end of each line, and the two work together, which is how the HTML preset wraps every line in a pair of tags.
How do I add a comma to the end of each line?
Switch on the trailing comma. Every line gets a comma except the last, so the list can go straight into code or a query. Add the quotation mark switch for text values. If the last line needs one too, leave the switch off and type a comma in the suffix box.
What happens to empty lines?
They are passed over: nothing is added, they take no number, and they are ignored when the tool looks for the last line, so a list in two blocks is numbered straight through. Switch Skip empty lines off and an empty line is treated like any other.
Can the numbering start somewhere else, or use letters?
Yes. Set the start number, pick plain numbers, leading zeros or letters, and change the text after the number from a full stop to a bracket or anything else. Letters carry on with aa, ab after z, the way spreadsheet columns do.
Will the result work as Markdown?
The dash list, numbered list, checklist, quote marker and hard break presets are Markdown. A line starting with -, + or * is a bullet item, digits with a full stop or a bracket make an ordered item, and two spaces at a line end force a break. The bullet character and lettered lists are for plain text.
How is this different from removing line breaks?
Remove line breaks joins lines together. This page keeps every line and changes its start and its end. The case converter changes the letters and not the lines, and the text spacer touches only the empty lines.