Pages outline spacing not automatically preserved for new sections

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Level 1

5 points

Pages outline spacing not automatically preserved for new sections

I am trying to create an outline in Pages 15.4. I'm hoping that there is a way that I can establish spacing and such so that when I start a new section, it preserves the spacing based on the outline level:

heading 1
1. sub 1.1
2. sub 1.2
heading 2
1. sub 2.2

The tool in this interface actually does it better than Pages does, as here the spacing is appropriate to the level. In Pages, the spacing appears to be independent of the level and needs to be reset each time you start a new Heading X. Am I missing something? Or do I really need to go in and reformat each level every time a start a new one?

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 26.7

Posted on Oct 9, 2026 10:03 AM

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Answer 1

VikingOSX

Level 10

131,234 points

Oct 9, 2026 11:22 AM in response to xraydoug2

Pages has a concept of a list style that you can create and save, then reference that list style for those lists you want to appear as in that style later in your document. If you want that list style to be usable in other documents, then you need to save that document as a new template, using that specific template for subsequent documents.

Just because you labor (and you will) over making a custom list in one section of your document, does not mean that Pages will remember that list formatting in another section — unless you have created a List style and apply it.

More info on Pages Lists: Format lists in Pages on Mac - Apple Support

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