Setting counters with enumerate and newlists

Question

When having a list defined for one's own environment like (I need levels deeper than the standard 4):

\setlistdepth{12}
\newlist{MyEnumerate}{enumerate}{12}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,1]{label=\arabic*.}
...

this all works good and one can also overrule the label.

However when trying to set the start counter this does not work in the new list. i.e.

\begin{enumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumi}{3}
\item an item
...

works but the following doesn't:

\begin{MyEnumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumi}{3}
\item an item

So the question:

how can I set the counter for MyEnumerate and also for the higher levels ?

The complete MWE:

documentclass[twoside]{book}

\RequirePackage{enumitem}

\setlistdepth{12}
\newlist{MyEnumerate}{enumerate}{12}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,1]{label=\arabic*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,2]{label=(\alph*)}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,3]{label=\roman*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,4]{label=\Alph*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,5]{label=\arabic*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,6]{label=(\alph*)}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,7]{label=\roman*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,8]{label=\Alph*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,9]{label=\arabic*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,10]{label=(\alph*)}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,11]{label=\roman*.}
\begin{document}

A standard list:

================
\begin{enumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumi}{3}
\item an item
\begin{enumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumii}{13}
\item an item
\begin{enumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumiii}{23}
\item an item
\begin{enumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumiii}{23}
\item an item
\item an item
\item an item
\end{enumerate}
\item an item
\item an item
\end{enumerate}
\item an item
\item an item
\end{enumerate}
\item an item
\item an item
\end{enumerate}

================

A modified list:

================
\begin{MyEnumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumi}{3}
\item an item
\begin{MyEnumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumii}{13}
\item an item
\begin{MyEnumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{enumiii}{23}
\item an item
\item an item
\item an item
\end{MyEnumerate}
\item an item
\item an item
\end{MyEnumerate}
\item an item
\item an item
\end{MyEnumerate}

================

\end{document}

And the resulting image:

the names of the counters are e.g. \setcounter{MyEnumerateii}{6}, but why don't you simply use the start key? — Ulrike Fischer
– Ulrike Fischer, Commented Apr 28, 2021 at 15:02
What do you mean by the start key? can you give an example? — albert
– albert, Commented Apr 28, 2021 at 15:19
Alan already enlightent me. @UlrikeFischer thanks for your comment. — albert
– albert, Commented Apr 28, 2021 at 15:29

Bernard · Accepted Answer · 2021-04-28 16:52:46Z

The counters for new lists are named using the list name. From the documentation (p.17):

If ⟨type⟩ is enumerate, a set of counters with names ⟨name⟩i, ⟨name⟩ii, ⟨name⟩iii, ⟨name⟩iv, etc. (depending on ⟨max-depth⟩) is defined.

So in your case, the counters are MyEnumeratei, MyEnumerateii, etc.

But as Ulrike mentions in the comments, it's usually not necessary to reference the counters directly, so instead of \setcounter{MyEnumeratei}{6) you can simply use \begin{MyEnumerate}[start=6] instead. I've redone two of your example lists using this syntax. This syntax means that you don't need to know which level you are at to set the counter correctly.

\documentclass[twoside]{book}

\RequirePackage{enumitem}

\setlistdepth{12}
\newlist{MyEnumerate}{enumerate}{12}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,1]{label=\arabic*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,2]{label=(\alph*)}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,3]{label=\roman*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,4]{label=\Alph*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,5]{label=\arabic*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,6]{label=(\alph*)}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,7]{label=\roman*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,8]{label=\Alph*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,9]{label=\arabic*.}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,10]{label=(\alph*)}
\setlist[MyEnumerate,11]{label=\roman*.}
\begin{document}



================

A modified list:

================
\begin{MyEnumerate}[label=\alph*]
\setcounter{MyEnumeratei}{3}
\item an item
\begin{MyEnumerate}[label=\alph*,start=13]
\item an item
\begin{MyEnumerate}[label=\alph*,start=23]
\item an item
\item an item
\item an item
\end{MyEnumerate}
\item an item
\item an item
\end{MyEnumerate}
\item an item
\item an item
\end{MyEnumerate}

================

\end{document}

This does work in a fixed environment (also for e.g. level 7 with MyEnumeratevii, though in the environment I have I currently don't know the level I'm in. Is theer an automatic way possible? — albert
– albert, Commented Apr 28, 2021 at 15:21
@albert Yes, as mentioned in the comments, use the start= key. I'll update my example code. — Alan Munn
– Alan Munn, Commented Apr 28, 2021 at 15:22

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