Multi level list formatting

[Hairy]

In an existing document for readability and referencing I added multi level numbering.



All went fine until the text length of the numbering got too large, forcing the text belonging to an item be sent right to the next tab-spot. This obviously is not the most desirable outcome.

I could "fix" the tab setting for each of the offending sections but . . .

Is there a setting which sets a (selectable) fixed distance between the numbering and the corresponding text, regardless how long the numbering might be?

Thanks in advance for steering me in the right direction.