Option to turn off block auto-conversion (particularly lists)

[OsakaWebbie]

What problem does this address?

Currently, if 1. or * is typed or pasted into an empty paragraph block, the block is automatically changed to a list block. And if the user tries to change it back, the number or asterisk is removed. Yes, I know that if one notices it right away (before typing more text) and does Undo at that moment, it will revert, but that's not intuitive. Some users (like me) never want such auto-conversion, or it would be undesired on some types of sites, but there doesn't appear to be any way to disable it.

What is your proposed solution?

Add a checkbox somewhere - perhaps something like this (enabled by default):
　☑ Automatically change "1. " or "* " to list block
I don't know what other auto-conversions the editor is designed to do - I've only personally run into the list one. But if there are others, a similar option for those would be good too.

Or even a more general one - something like this:
　☑ Automatically change block type if applicable text is detected

As for where to put the checkbox, I assume it would be in the editor's Preferences (either the General or Blocks tab). Or it could be in the main WordPress settings area (e.g. Writing Settings) - that's actually the first place I looked for it, before I remembered that the editor has its own set of settings. Whichever is easier, I guess.

[behrang1981]

Any update or progress on this? This non-handable auto conversion is problematic especially when you work in a sports editorial team and you begin your paragraphs with the club name like "1. FC Köln". Although you can undo the conversion it's not very pracitcal as you would need to undo immediately after "1.".

Is there any block filter that could help here?
Is there a general disable markdown magic filter?

[marekzelezny]

I also believe there should be an option to add text without automatic formatting.

We frequently copy text from Word (used for copying texts for printed media) into Gutenberg, and we encounter similar issues:

Any number starting with "1. ", "24. ", "12. ", etc., is automatically converted into a list. This becomes especially frustrating because our date format is "dd. mm. yyyy" (Czech language, space between dots is a rule in our language), so you can imagine the mess this auto-conversion creates when importing, say, 15 pages of text.

--

The only way to avoid auto-conversion is to disable the list block in the editor settings (three dots → Preferences → Blocks → Disable List). However, this doesn’t fully solve the issue because of one major problem: when copying text that starts with a date, like "1. 4. 2024 paragraph text," it won't paste into the content at all. :)