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Creating a Hanging Indent

Summary: One of the more common formatting tasks for paragraphs is to create hanging indents. This tip explains what they are and shows how easy it is to create them in Word. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

"Hanging indent" is the typographical term for a paragraph in which the first line is not indented, but subsequent lines in the paragraph are. Typically, hanging indents are used for numbered and bulleted lists. To create a hanging indent in Word, use the following steps:

  1. Position the insertion point in the paragraph in which you want the hanging indent.
  2. Display the Paragraph dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.) In Word 2007 display the Home tab of the ribbon and click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Paragraph group. In older versions of Word choose Paragraph from the Format menu.
  3. In the Special drop-down list, choose Hanging. The By field changes to a value, most often one-half inch.
  4. Adjust the By field to indicate how much you want each line in the paragraph (except the first) indented.
  5. Click on OK.

Of course, Word provides shortcuts to create the most common application of hanging indents—numbered and bulleted lists. To apply these, you can simply use the appropriate Numbering or Bullets tools on the Home tab of the ribbon (Word 2007) or on the Formatting toolbar (older versions of Word).

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (267) applies to the following Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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