How to Indent Copy or Make a Hanging Indent in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word offers several options for indenting copy.

Microsoft Word, is not a desktop-publishing program, but this industry-leading word processor offers a few ways to manipulate how text appears on the page. Make a document more readable by adding white space as you manipulate the indents and margins on the page. Word’s paragraph settings let you customize how far across the page text stretches and whether the text appears in blocks or indented.

Instructions

1. Launch Microsoft Word and open the the file with the copy to adjust. Scroll to the first section to change.

2. Position the cursor to the left of the first character in the section to indent. Press the “Tab” key one time. The first line shifts over one tab stop, or one indent, which is by default set to 1/2 inch. Continue pressing to indent more.

3. Position the cursor to the left of another section. Right-click and select “Paragraph” from the context menu that appears.

4. Pull down the menu under the Special section and select “Hanging.” Word automatically sets the hanging indent at half an inch. To change it, click the “By” box up or down.

5. Click “OK” and the hanging indent is set.

6. Position the cursor anywhere in a block of text to indent. Right-click and select “Paragraph.” Click up the “Left” or “Right” boxes, depending on your preference, under the “Indentation” section to add indents to the copy.

Resources

• Microsoft Office: Getting Started with Word 2010