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The highest number allowed in ordered lists using Roman numerals is 3999.

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  • Last reply by cor-el

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This is not a question, but a tip for users of Firefox.

When using Roman (upper and lower) numerals, the highest number a user will see as a Roman numeral is 3999. I believe it is because the number 4000 in Roman numerals includes an overscore. For those who might have really long ordered lists who are using Roman numerals, once your list hits 4000, the Roman numerals will end and Arabic numerals will being (the numbers we use today).

I do not see a way to format the text in this post to show an example of the overscore.

I am not savvy enough to go diving into Firefox code to make Roman numerals above 3999 show correctly in ordered lists, but someone else might be.

Update: I tried to post example code, but it was washed out.

This is not a question, but a tip for users of Firefox. When using Roman (upper and lower) numerals, the highest number a user will see as a Roman numeral is 3999. I believe it is because the number 4000 in Roman numerals includes an overscore. For those who might have really long ordered lists who are using Roman numerals, once your list hits 4000, the Roman numerals will end and Arabic numerals will being (the numbers we use today). I do not see a way to format the text in this post to show an example of the overscore. I am not savvy enough to go diving into Firefox code to make Roman numerals above 3999 show correctly in ordered lists, but someone else might be. Update: I tried to post example code, but it was washed out.

Modified by Lady Aleena

Chosen solution

Here's a demo page for reference: http://jsfiddle.net/491uj8jq/

I think 4000 would be MMMM so that doesn't seem complicated to display. My guess is it's one of those things that someone thought would never be needed.

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Out of curiosity, what kind of document has numbering of 4000 or higher?

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Chosen Solution

Here's a demo page for reference: http://jsfiddle.net/491uj8jq/

I think 4000 would be MMMM so that doesn't seem complicated to display. My guess is it's one of those things that someone thought would never be needed.

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jscher2000 said

I think 4000 would be MMMM so that doesn't seem complicated to display. My guess is it's one of those things that someone thought would never be needed.

4000 is MV and 5000 is V, both with the V overlined. 9000 is MX and 10000 is X, both with the X overlined. To print them like that, you'd need to add something like the following to your style sheet.

.overline { text-decoration: overline };

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