3-minute read
The indentation options in Microsoft Word allow you to set a passage of text apart from the rest of the document. This can be very useful, especially for block quotes in an essay or report.
But how do you format text indentation in Word? And when should you use it? Let us explain.
Indentation vs. The ‘Tab’ Key
If you simply want to indent a single line of text, you can place the cursor at the beginning of the line and hit the tab key. This will add a 1.27cm (0.5”) indent at the start of the line. However, if you need to indent more than one line, you should use the indentation options instead.
However, the most efficient way to add a first line indent is to adjust your paragraph settings so that Word automatically creates a first line indent each time you begin a new paragraph. Click on image to enlarge. Tutorial: Word for Windows; Word for Mac. Use a hanging indent in a document when you want to keep the first line of a paragraph aligned with the left margin while subsequent lines in the paragraph are indented in from the left margin. In Microsoft Word for Mac computers, the Paragraph dialog box is used to add and adjust hanging indents. The top marker (down arrow) controls the first line indent, and the middle marker (up arrow) controls the hanging indent (the indent for lines after the first line in each paragraph). The bottom marker (small box) controls the left indent. To adjust these indents, you can click-and-drag each marker to the right or left. Question: In Word 2011, how do I indent text in a document? Answer: Select the text that you'd like to indent. Then select the Home tab in the toolbar at the top of the screen. Then click on the Increase Indent button in the Paragraph group. Now when you view your document, the text should be indented. You can further indent your text by clicking the Increase Indent button again.
These can be accessed via the main ribbon in Microsoft Word. You can then apply them to an entire paragraph (or multiple paragraphs) to quickly format larger passages of text.
Basic Indentation Options
The most basic options for paragraph spacing can be found in the Paragraph section of the Home tab. Here, you will find two buttons: Decrease Indent and Increase Indent.
You can probably guess what these do from their names. The important thing to remember is that these buttons control indentation from the left margin, adding or removing a 1.27cm (0.5”) indent.
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For more control over indentation, you have two options:
- Go to the Layout tab and adjust the indent for each margin via the Paragraph section
- Open the Paragraph Settings menu by clicking the little arrow in the bottom right of the same section on the ribbon, then adjust the settings in the Indentation section
Both of these allow you to set a custom value for indentation from the left and right margins. In Word for Mac, these options can be accessed by selecting Format > Paragraph from the menu system.
Special Indentation
In the Paragraph Settings menu (see above), you will also see a Special section. This will let you indent specific parts of a paragraph rather than the entire passage. Your options are:
- First Line – This adds an indent on the first line of each paragraph you format. This can be used to show where a new paragraph begins instead of adding a space between paragraphs.
- Hanging – This option indents everything except the first line in a paragraph. You may need to use this when formatting a reference list in an essay (e.g. if you are using APA referencing).
With both of these options, all you need to do is:
- Select the text you want to format or place the cursor where you want to type
- Open the Paragraph Settings menu and select the indentation type
- Set a value for the indentation and click OK
And if you’re not sure which type of indent to use or how big to make them, check your style guide!
3-minute read
Many people use ‘Tab’ to indent something in Microsoft Word, but this can cause issues during editing (e.g. having to delete gaps when combining paragraphs in an essay). As such, the alternative indentation options in Word are a better choice in most cases.
Basic Indentation
The indentation options control how far text is from the margins. To increase or reduce the indentation from the left margin, all you need to do is click the relevant buttons in the ‘Paragraph’ section of the ‘Home’ tab on the main ribbon.
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However, for more control over indentation, you need to click the little arrow in the bottom right of the ‘Paragraph’ section to open the main menu (Format > Paragraph Kingdoms of amalur reckoning mods pc download pc. in Word for Mac).
One you’ve accessed the main menu, you’ll see a section called ‘Indentation’. The ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ boxes here allow you to set a custom indentation value for selected text.
Most of the time, you’ll be indenting something from the left margin. However, if you set the ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ indentations to the same value, you can position text in the centre of the page without having to change the text alignment.
Special Indentations
The ‘Indentation’ section of the paragraph menu also includes a ‘Special’ section. This offers two different types of indentation that you might need to use:
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- First line – This option lets you indent only the first line in a paragraph. This is roughly equivalent to hitting tab at the start of a paragraph, but you can also select a custom value. Some style guides recommend using this instead of paragraph spacing to show where paragraphs begin and end. However, this is quite rare in modern academic writing.
- Hanging – A ‘hanging’ indent is applied to lines after the first one in a paragraph. This is common in reference lists, with some systems (e.g. APA) requiring use of a hanging indent for references. Make sure to check your style guide if you’re not sure whether to use hanging indents in your work.
With both of these ‘special’ indentations, all you need to do is select the required option and set the value accordingly (e.g. a hanging indent in a reference list is usually about 1.27cm).
Mirror Indents
There is also a ‘Mirror indents’ option in the paragraph menu. If you click this, the indentation options change from ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ to ‘Inside’ and ‘Outside’. This can be useful if you are printing on both sides of the paper.
Hanging Indent
Essentially, ‘mirroring’ means that odd and even pages are ‘mirrored’ so that indentations are applied in relation to the place where pages meet. This ensures that indentations are consistent throughout the document.
How To First Line Indent Word For Macs
The idea here is the same as with ‘Mirror Margins’. As such, you may want to use mirror indents if you are also using mirrored margins.