# Reporting: Merge Blocks Rendered As Numbered Lists > Merge blocks can render numbered lists from data sources by placing merge fields inside list items and converting the selection to a merge block. The template requires a blank trailing list item for row repetition, and multiple lists need Restart Numbering set via the dialog. - **Author:** Bjoern Meyer - **Published:** 2016-05-05 - **Modified:** 2026-03-05 - **Description:** Merge blocks can render numbered lists from data sources by placing merge fields inside list items and converting the selection to a merge block. The template requires a blank trailing list item for row repetition, and multiple lists need Restart Numbering set via the dialog. - **2 min read** (394 words) - **Tags:** - Reporting - **Web URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2016/05/05/reporting-merge-blocks-rendered-as-numbered-lists/ - **LLMs URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2016/05/05/reporting-merge-blocks-rendered-as-numbered-lists/llms.txt - **LLMs-Full URL:** https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2016/05/05/reporting-merge-blocks-rendered-as-numbered-lists/llms-full.txt --- A merge block repeats the content based on the number of data rows or instances in an *IEnumerable* object. Typically, a merge block is a table row or a table. But a merge block is also perfect to create numbered lists based on database content. Consider the following template that should list all products followed by all customers: ![Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2016/05/05/a/assets/merge_block.webp "Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists")As you can see in the template, there is a blank list item under each numbered list. This is required, so that the next item from the data source is also added as a numbered list item. In order to insert such a repeating block, follow these steps: 1. Insert your desired merge field into a new line. 2. Then select the paragraph and convert the selection into a numbered list using the *Number Format* button from the *Paragraph* ribbon group: ![Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2016/05/05/a/assets/convert.webp "Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists") 3. Set the input position after the field and press *ENTER* to insert a new line: ![Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2016/05/05/a/assets/convert2.webp "Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists") 4. Select the block from the new blank list item position to the beginning of the inserted merge field. If you enable the control characters (ΒΆ), the carriage return after the first list item should be part of the selection: ![Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2016/05/05/a/assets/convert3.webp "Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists") 5. Now, this selection can be converted to a merge block by choosing the desired block name from the *Merge Block* drop-down in the *Reports* ribbon tab. ![Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2016/05/05/a/assets/convert4.webp "Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists") When inserting a second list, make sure that this list is set to *Restart Numbering* using the *Bullets and Numbering* dialog: ![Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists](https://s1-www.textcontrol.com/assets/dist/blog/2016/05/05/a/assets/dialog.webp "Reporting: Merge blocks rendered as numbered lists") --- ## About Bjoern Meyer As CEO, Bjoern is the visionary behind our strategic direction and business development, bridging the gap between our customers and engineering teams. His deep passion for coding and web technologies drives the creation of innovative products. If you're at a tech conference, be sure to stop by our booth - you'll most likely meet Bjoern in person. With an advanced graduate degree (Dipl. Inf.) in Computer Science, specializing in AI, from the University of Bremen, Bjoern brings significant expertise to his role. In his spare time, Bjoern enjoys running, paragliding, mountain biking, and playing the piano. - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernmeyer/) - [X](https://x.com/txbjoern) - [GitHub](https://github.com/bjoerntx) --- ## Related Posts - [.NET C# PDF Generation Techniques: Which Method is Right for Your Project?](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/10/30/net-csharp-pdf-generation-techniques-which-method-is-right-for-your-project/llms.txt) - [Best Practices for Mail Merge and Form Field Processing in ASP.NET Core C# Applications](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/07/30/best-practices-for-mail-merge-and-form-field-processing-in-asp-net-core-csharp-applications/llms.txt) - [Advantages of Flow Type Layout Reporting vs. Banded Reporting or PDF Template Engines in .NET C#](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2024/07/29/advantages-of-flow-type-layout-reporting-vs-banded-reporting-or-pdf-template-engines-in-net-c-sharp/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 32.0 Has Been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/09/13/tx-text-control-320-has-been-released/llms.txt) - [Getting Started: Angular Document Editor Attributes Explained](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/02/01/getting-started-angular-document-editor-attributes-explained/llms.txt) - [Getting Started: Programming the Angular Document Editor using JavaScript](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/01/30/getting-started-programming-the-angular-document-editor-using-javascript/llms.txt) - [Getting Started: Loading and Saving Documents using Angular](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2023/01/30/loading-and-saving-documents-using-angular/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 31.0 and TX Spell .NET 10.0 Have Been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2022/09/07/tx-text-control-31-released/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control 30.0 and TX Spell .NET 9.0 Have Been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2021/11/29/tx-text-control-30-released/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control X19 and TX Spell 8.0 Have Been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/12/02/tx-text-control-x19-released/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control for Angular X18 Published](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/03/18/tx-text-control-for-angular-x18-published/llms.txt) - [MVC NuGet Packages for X18 Published](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/03/17/mvc-nuget-packages-for-x18-published/llms.txt) - [TX Text Control X18 has been Released](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/03/16/tx-text-control-x18-released/llms.txt) - [Impressions from NDC London 2020](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/02/01/impressions-from-ndc-london-2020/llms.txt) - [Sneak Peek X18: Form Field Conditional Instructions](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/01/03/sneak-peek-x18-form-field-conditional-instructions/llms.txt) - [DocumentViewer: New Two Page View Mode](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/01/02/documentviewer-new-two-page-view-mode/llms.txt) - [Creating Your First ASP.NET Reporting Application](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2020/01/01/creating-your-first-aspnet-reporting-application/llms.txt) - [What a Year! 2019 Recap and Outlook 2020](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/12/23/what-a-year-2019-recap-and-outlook-2020/llms.txt) - [MailMerge Class Settings Explained](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/12/05/mailmerge-settings-explained/llms.txt) - [Impressions from DDC in Cologne](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/12/02/impressions-from-ddc-in-cologne/llms.txt) - [See Text Control at DDC in Cologne](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/11/24/see-text-control-at-ddc-in-cologne/llms.txt) - [Impressions from DEVintersection Fall 2019](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/11/22/impressions-from-devintersection-fall-2019/llms.txt) - [Impressions from TechBash 2019](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/11/14/impressions-from-techbash-2019/llms.txt) - [Outlook X18: Document Workflow and Forms Processing](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/11/12/outlook-x18-document-workflow-and-forms-processing/llms.txt) - [Deploying the Angular Document Editor](https://www.textcontrol.com/blog/2019/11/11/deploying-the-angular-document-editor/llms.txt)