What is List Formatter?

The List Formatter converts between different list formats: comma-separated, bulleted, numbered, one-per-line, and HTML lists. Paste your items in any format and convert to the one you need with custom separators, prefixes, and sorting.

Auto-detection handles the common delimiters so you rarely have to specify the input format. Deduplication is case-insensitive by default, with a Case Sensitive toggle when you need exact matching; sorting uses locale-aware comparison and includes a shuffle option for random order. HTML output produces valid <ul>/<ol> markup ready to paste into a CMS, and the custom separator field accepts any string, including multi-character sequences like ' | ' or ', and '.

How to use

1. Paste your list items in any format — comma-separated, one per line, or any delimiter.
2. Choose your output format: bulleted (•), numbered (1. 2. 3.), comma-separated, HTML <ul>/<ol>, or custom separator.
3. Sort, deduplicate, or trim whitespace if needed, then copy the result.

When to use

• Converting comma-separated tags from a database export into one-per-line for spreadsheet pasting.
• Turning a bulleted list from a meeting note into clean HTML <ul> for a blog post.
• De-duplicating and sorting an email recipient list before pasting into a mail client.

Result

You have a comma-separated list of 20 email addresses from a spreadsheet export. You paste them in, select 'One per line' output, check 'Sort alphabetically' and 'Remove duplicates', and get a clean sorted list with 3 duplicates removed — ready to paste into your email tool.

FAQ

Will auto-detect pick the right delimiter if my list mixes commas and newlines?

Auto-detect picks the most frequent delimiter and treats it as the separator. If your list mixes them, set the input format manually to newline so commas inside an item don't get split. Trim whitespace catches the extra spaces left behind.

Does the deduplicate option treat 'Apple' and 'apple' as duplicates?

By default, yes — deduplication lowercases both items before comparing, so 'Apple' and 'apple' count as one and the first occurrence is kept with its original casing. Turn on the Case Sensitive toggle (next to Remove Duplicates) when you want 'Apple' and 'apple' treated as two distinct entries.

Can I add a prefix to every line, like a hyphen or numbering?

The prefix field prepends whatever you type to each item. For markdown-style bullets enter '- ' (with trailing space). Numbered output already adds '1. ', '2. ' automatically, so the prefix runs after the number.

What sort order does the tool use for non-Latin scripts?

A→Z and Z→A use locale-aware comparison that respects Unicode collation, so Cyrillic, CJK, and Arabic lists sort in their script's natural order rather than codepoint order — 'Б' comes before 'В' as a Russian reader expects. For numbered data, pick Numeric to sort by the number inside each item, or Length to order items shortest-to-longest.

How do I keep duplicates but still sort alphabetically?

Leave the deduplicate checkbox unchecked and set sort to A→Z or Z→A. The duplicates stay in the output and appear next to each other once sorted, which is useful when you need to see how many times each value repeats.

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