Setting a Negative Paragraph Indent

You probably already know that Word allows you to specify an indent from the left margin on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis, if desired. The indent value you set is added to the left margin value for the page, thereby deriving how far the left side of the paragraph should appear in relation to the left edge of the paper.

For some layout tasks, you may want to set a negative indent for a paragraph. Word allows you to do this, effectively moving the left side of the paragraph into the margin area you defined for your page. To set a negative indent, follow these steps:

1. Select the paragraph or paragraphs you want affected by the formatting change. (If you want the change to a single paragraph only, you can simply make sure the insertion point is within that paragraph.)
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. Using the Left control, specify a negative value. For instance, if you wanted the paragraph to extend a quarter-inch into the left margin area, you would enter -.25 as the Left value.
4. Click on OK.