Creating a Hanging Indent

"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).