How to make different indents in Word. How can you make a paragraph in Word? - indents and spacing

How to indent in Word?

If you are interested in how to make indents in Word, then learn how to work with the built-in function for adjusting paragraphs. Using automatic paragraph adjustment, you can indent text in auto-formatting mode.

Open the paragraph settings window

Before you indent paragraphs, open the Auto Adjust window. This can be done in two ways:

1. Find the “paragraph” tab in the top menu of the program. It is located between the “font” and “styles” tabs and is available in the main settings mode. To expand the paragraph settings window, click on the small arrow in the lower right corner of this tab. A window for setting paragraph parameters will open, in which we select the “Indents and Spacing” tab.
2. Left-click anywhere in the text. In the menu that opens, select “paragraph”. In the new paragraph settings window, select the “Indents and Spacing” tab.

Setting paragraph indents

How to indent left and right? In the paragraph settings window, select the “Indentation” section. In the boxes next to the inscriptions “left” and “right” we set the required shift distance for the left and right edges of the paragraph. Click the “ok” button at the bottom of the window.

How to indent the top? To do this, select the “Interval” section in the settings window. In the box next to the “top” text, set the required distance to shift the paragraph down. Click the “ok” button at the bottom of the window.

To indent the red line of one paragraph, select the “indent” section. In the window under With the “first line” caption, select the “indent” item. Set the desired shift distance for the left edge of the first line of the paragraph. Click the “ok” button at the bottom of the window.

If you are wondering how to indent a red line in tab mode, then follow these steps:

1. Open the paragraph settings window.
2. At the bottom of this window, click the tab button.
3. In the “Tabulation Positions” field, set the required numeric parameters.
4. In the “Alignment” section, select “left”.
5. Press the “Install” button.
6. Click the “ok” button.

That's all. If you still have questions, read our articles.

This article will talk about setting up paragraphs. If you need to format documents correctly and beautifully, you cannot do without knowing how paragraphs are set up. The basic ways to format paragraphs will be described here.

Paragraph Format

A paragraph is a structural component of the text, usually connected logically and highlighted graphically, for example, in the form of indents. When you type text, pressing the Enter key each time creates a new paragraph. Setting the paragraph appearance determines its format, which is responsible for placing text on the page.

Setting up (formatting) a paragraph implies:

• distance to the right or left of the paragraph;
• paragraph line spacing;
• aligning paragraph lines relative to the left and right margins;
• indentation or indentation of the first line of a paragraph;
• spacing before and after paragraphs;
• breaking paragraphs into pages.

First of all, when starting to set up a paragraph, you need to be able to highlight it. To do this, do the following:

1 way:

• Left-click three times on any word in the paragraph;

Method 2:

Use keyboard shortcuts:

• – selection from the location of the text input cursor to the beginning of the paragraph;
• – selection from the location of the text input cursor to the end of the paragraph.

Aligning Paragraph Lines

By default, paragraph text is left aligned. But documents are different, and the alignment may also require different. For example, for test work at universities, width alignment is accepted.

To set the desired alignment method for paragraph lines, use one of the following methods:

1 way:

Go to the "Home" tab, and then highlight the paragraphs you need (the order does not matter).

In the Paragraph group, click one of the four available alignment buttons:

• “Left” – aligns paragraph lines to the left;
• “Centered” – aligns paragraph lines to the center (proportionally equidistant from the right and left edges);
• “Right” – aligns paragraph lines to the right;
• “Justified” – aligns paragraph lines simultaneously to both the left and right margins. In this case, the text will visually “stretch” (fill the space of the lines), and additional space will appear between words.

Method 2:

Select the paragraphs you need, and then use the keyboard shortcuts:

• – left alignment;
• – center alignment;
• – right alignment;
• – width alignment.

Figure 1 - Paragraph line alignment

Indent the first line of a paragraph

The most common use when formatting paragraphs is to indent the first line. How many times have I seen how “experienced secretarial assistants” and representatives of other professions associated with the creation of text electronic documents have no idea how to set a paragraph using the Word 2010 interface. They usually use double or triple pressing the spacebar for this purpose , or, at best, a key . And although clicking this key visually sets an indent equal to 1.25 cm (0.5 inches) and outwardly everything looks “correct”, in general, this approach is irrational. There is no need to do the work for which the program for editing text documents was created. Plus, by using "correct" paragraph formatting, you'll save time later on a lot of unnecessary spacebar (or ). When you subsequently edit the document, you will avoid the routine associated with rearranging the general appearance of the document.

Now let's look at how to adjust indents, and this can be done visually (by eye) or precisely (by setting a certain value in the "Paragraph" window). Visual adjustment involves using a horizontal ruler, where you can quickly change the size of the indentation, guided by the feeling of the desired size “by eye”. Fine tuning allows you to set the indent value in the units of measurement used in the document - it is worth using it when you know the size of the indent value.

Visually adjusting the first line indentation

To indent the first line of a paragraph, do the following:

1 way:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. On the horizontal ruler, move the cursor to the “First line indent” icon;
3. Click and hold the left mouse button, and then drag the icon along the ruler to the desired location.

Method 2:

1. Click the tab indicator button until the First Line Indent icon appears;
2. Click the horizontal ruler where you want the first line indent to be.

Fine-tuning the first line indentation

1 way:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. Right-click on the selected fragment;
3. In the context menu (Fig. 1), select “Paragraph” (you will be taken to the “Paragraph” window);
4. On the “Indents and Spacing” tab, in the “Indentation” group, in the “First Line” column, set the desired indentation value (default 1.25 cm).

Method 2:

1. In the open document window, go to the “Home” tab;
2. Select the required paragraphs;
3. Next, in the “Paragraph” window, proceed in the same way as in the first case.

Figure 2 - Using the context menu to go to the “Paragraph” window

Setting the first line overhang

In rare cases, in addition to the usual indentation of the first line of a paragraph, a protrusion is used. This technique is often used to design poetic prose and a number of artistic works, in particular, magazine articles.

To create a ledge, do the following:

1 way:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. Click the tab indicator button (Figure 3) until the Tab icon appears;
3. Click the horizontal ruler where you want the first line tab to end, and then type the text for the first line of the paragraph. Now, starting from the second line, the text will begin below the tab position on the horizontal ruler.

Figure 3 Tab indicator button

Method 2:

1. In the document, select the paragraphs you need, and then go to the “Home” tab;
2. In the “Paragraph” group, click the “Paragraph” button;
3. In the “Paragraph” window, on the “Indents and Spacing” tab, in the “Indentation” group, in the “First Line” column, select the “Indentation” value;
4. Set the desired value manually or using the controls.

Figure 4 - Indentation and indentation of the first line of a paragraph

Quickly adjust the left indent for a paragraph

Sometimes you need to quickly adjust the position of a paragraph relative to the edges of the document. In particular, when it seems to us that the indentation set for lists is too large, or the inserted images are too far from the left margin, and this spoils the overall appearance of the document. In this case, we can very quickly, “on the fly,” change the indentation value, selecting the optimal one. To set the left indent for all lines of a paragraph by a specified amount (a multiple of the standard), do the following:

1 way:

1. Select the required paragraphs, and then go to the “Home” tab;
2. In the “Paragraph” group, click on the “Decrease Indent” and “Increase Indent” buttons. All paragraph lines will indent (or move to the side) from the left margin by 1.25 cm.

Note. Please note that each repeated click on these buttons shifts the paragraph lines by 1.25cm. Don’t get carried away, if you click too much on the decrease indentation button, you will remove it altogether, and on the contrary, by constantly increasing the indentation, you will ensure that the words completely disappear from view (more precisely, they will go beyond the edges of the visible area). To remove the first line indent for a paragraph, use the “Paragraph” window and select “No” in the “First Line” field or enter a zero value in the “On” field. You can also use the Undo button on the Quick Access Toolbar to go back a few steps.

Method 2:

1. Select the necessary paragraphs;
2. On the horizontal ruler, hover your mouse over the Left Indent icon and, while holding down the left button, move it to the desired position.

If you get confused when setting up indents, you can easily fix this by removing them, to do this, do the following:

1 way:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Decrease Indent button.

Method 2:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. On the horizontal ruler, left-click (and hold) the Left Indent icon;
3. Drag it to the starting position on the ruler, level with the left margin.

Quickly adjust the right indentation

It is also possible to quickly adjust the right indentation. This is needed when you are typing text that needs to look like a block, such as when you are writing poetry, tanka, or poetic prose. In these cases, right alignment gives the text a special look, also emphasizing its theme.

To quickly set the right indent, do the following:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. On the horizontal ruler, click and hold the left mouse button on the “Right Indent” icon;
3. Drag it to the desired position on the ruler.

To remove the right indent, do the following:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. On the horizontal ruler, left-click (and hold) the “Right Indent” icon;
3. Drag it to the starting position on the ruler, at the level of the right margin.

Fine-tuning paragraph indentation

By default, paragraph lines begin immediately at the left margin and end at the right (if you fill a page with text in one large paragraph, it will look like a page-sized text block). Often you need to specify the exact distance from the left margin, or from the end of the lines to the right margin. In particular, this is necessary when you have clear requirements for the design of the work, in particular, the value of indentation values. To do this, do the following:

1 way:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. Go to the “Home” tab and in the “Paragraph” group, click on the “Paragraph” button;
3. On the “Indents and Spacing” tab of the “Paragraph” window, in the “Indentation” group, in the “Right” and “Left” items, set the desired value.

Method 2:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. Go to the “Page Layout” tab and in the “Paragraph” group, in the “Left Indent” and “Right Indent” lines, set the desired value.

Figure 5 - Setting paragraph indentation

Line spacing

Line spacing is very often used when formatting documents, and its most common values ​​are single and one and a half. The spacing itself is determined based on the base lines of the lines that run through the center of the letters (this takes into account their upper and lower elements, such as superscript/subscript marks). Thus, single spacing corresponds to the font size of the text, and is the “default” spacing in Word 2010. One and a half spacing is used in most business documents, course papers and abstracts. To set line spacing, do the following:

1 way:

1. Select the paragraphs you need and right-click on the selected area;
2. In the context menu, select “Paragraph”;
3. In the “Paragraph” window, “Indents and Spacing” tab, in the “Spacing” group, in the “Line Spacing” column, select the one you need from the list:

• “Single” – the spacing corresponds to the font size of the paragraph text;
• “1.5 lines” – the spacing is equal to one and a half font size of the paragraph text;
• “Double” – the spacing is equal to double the font size of the paragraph text;
• “Minimum” – the interval is not less than the size specified in points;
• “Exactly” – the spacing exactly corresponds to the size specified in points (that is, if the font is 12pt, then the spacing will be exactly the same);
• “Multiplier” – a multiplier for a spacing equal to the font size of the paragraph text (the larger the multiplier, the larger the spacing).

Method 2:

1. In the “Paragraph” group, click on the “Line Spacing” button (you will go to the “Paragraph” window to the “Indents and Spacing” tab);.
2. In the Interval group, in the Value box, enter the desired value and click OK.

3 way:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. Using keyboard shortcuts, set the required interval:

• Ctrl+1 – single spacing;
• Ctrl+5 – one and a half interval;
• Ctrl+2 – double spacing.

Setting paragraph spacing

In most cases, when special accuracy in document design is not required, the vertical distance between paragraphs (spacing) is set by pressing a key at the end of the paragraph. At the same time, this distance can visually spoil the overall appearance of the document, and the more paragraphs, the more noticeable this is. In addition, it may be necessary to set a spacing independent of the size of the fonts used. To do this you need to do the following:

1 way:

1. Select the required paragraphs;
2. In the “Paragraph” window of the “Indents and Spacing” tab, in the “Spacing” group, in the “Before” (above the paragraph) and “After” (after the paragraph) items, use the sliders to set the desired value. Please note that each click on them corresponds to a step that is a multiple of 6pts (points). To enter a custom value, use the data entry area.

Method 2:

1. Select the paragraphs you need and go to the “Page Layout” tab;
2. In the “Paragraph” group, in the “Interval” column, set the desired value;

Figure 6 - Line spacing

Pagination of paragraphs

When working with large documents, you may need to set the proportional placement of paragraphs of text on pages. For example, you are writing a document with large paragraphs, and you need each new paragraph to start on a new page. To paginate paragraphs, do the following:

1. Select the necessary paragraphs;
2. Right-click on the selected fragment and in the context menu that appears, select “Paragraph”;
3. In the Paragraph window, go to the Page Position tab;
4. In the “Paging” group, select the items you need:

• “Prohibition of dangling lines” – prohibition of one line from moving to the next page or the first line from moving to the previous one;
• “Do not tear away from the next” – prohibits the transition of the next paragraph to the next page;
• “Do not break paragraph” – prohibits the division of a paragraph into two pages;
• “From a new page” – inserts a page break before a paragraph (each subsequent paragraph begins on a new page).

Figure 7 Breaking a paragraph using the “Page Position” tab tools

To quickly set the spacing at the top of a paragraph that matches the standard line font size (12pt), do the following:

1. Place the cursor on the desired paragraph;
2. Press the key combination .

Please note that pressing the keys again removes the interval.

Sorting paragraphs

Sometimes it is necessary to sort paragraphs, for example, when you have created a list of references (for a test or essay) and it needs to be sorted alphabetically. Another example is when you are generating a selection of news and you need to select articles and comments by date. To sort, do the following:

1. Go to the “Home” tab and select the required paragraphs;
2. In the “Paragraph” group, click on the “Sorting” button and in the “Sorting Text” window, in the “First by” column, select the “Paragraphs” value;
3. In the “Type” column, select the value “Text”, “Number” or “Date”, depending on where the paragraph begins (with a number, date or text);
4. Set the sorting direction – “Ascending” (from smallest to largest), or “Descending” (from largest to smallest);
5. Click OK.

Figure 8 - Sorting paragraphs

Highlight paragraphs with the same formatting

This technique can be used when you insert text fragments with different formatting, for example, you are preparing a review of a new car from Aston Martin and you need as much information as possible from various sites. In this case, you insert text fragments from sites as you download (read) the article. The sites are different and the formatting also varies, but, for example, you most trust a couple of sites that specialize in covering the automotive industry. Accordingly, you need to find all the articles from these sites that you copied into your document. You can do this by setting just one paragraph as an example - all other paragraphs with similar formatting will be highlighted, and you, for example, can rearrange them into a block for subsequent actions (editing, formatting).

To highlight paragraphs with identical formatting, do the following:

1. Select the paragraph with the desired formatting options;
2. Right-click on the selected fragment and in the context menu, move the cursor to the “Styles” item;
3. From the Styles pop-up menu, click Select Text That Has the Same Format.

Undo formatting in a paragraph

To remove changes you made when formatting paragraphs, do the following:

1. Select the desired paragraph;
2. Press the key combination

Set the default paragraph style

To use a specific default paragraph style other than the base one (the "Normal" style), do the following:

1. Click the File tab, then Word Options, Advanced;
2. In the “Editing Options” group, in the “Default Paragraph Style” item, select the desired style;
3. Click the OK button.

Figure 9 Setting paragraph style

This technique is useful if you are using a different paragraph style than usual in your work.

Conclusion

Paragraph settings allow you to completely change the look of your document. By changing the line spacing values, you can visually increase or decrease the size of the document. In this case, you can set completely standard values ​​for the first line indentation, and at the same time give the document a correct and complete look. This has a certain significance for the overall appearance of the document, because the lack of visual design of a paragraph impairs the “readability” of the document.

Knowing how to format paragraphs is necessary for anyone who works with documents that require at least minimal formatting.

After you have typed everything you need in Word, or you have been given an already typed document, you can proceed to editing and formatting the finished text in Word. And one of the things you have to do is adjust the indents for the lines in the document.

In this article, we'll figure out how to indent an entire paragraph, just the first line, and indent text.

Using a ruler

For the entire paragraph

Let's start with the first question. You can move the printed text away from the established margins on the right and left sides. This can be done using special markers on the top ruler of the document. If it is not displayed for you, go to the “View” tab and in the “Show” group, check the “Ruler” box.

There is only one marker on the right side. To move away from the field, left-click on what is printed and drag the marker to the desired distance on the ruler. The ruler division value is 0.25 cm.

If you did not select anything, then the indentation will be made for the part where the cursor is positioned. If you need to make the same distance from the margin for everything printed, select everything by pressing the combination “Ctrl+A” and drag the marker. To indent different parts, select them and drag the handle.

There are three markers on the left side of the ruler. In order to indent to the left for one selected part, put italics there, left-click on the bottom marker, it looks like a rectangle, and drag it to the desired distance on the ruler.

At the same time, highlight the entire text or individual paragraphs.

For the first line

If you need to retreat only for the first row, it is also called the red line in Word, then on the ruler on the right side, drag the top marker to the required distance. Considering that the division value is 0.25 cm, in the example we made an indent equal to 1.25 cm.

You can read a detailed article about paragraphs in Word by following the link.

Text tab

Using the last marker, you can make a protrusion for the text. Click on it with the left mouse button and set it to the desired distance on the ruler. In this case, all text, with the exception of the first line, will shift by the specified value.

Using the dialog box

Everything we discussed above can be done in another way. To do this, on the “Home” tab, in the “Paragraph” group, click on the small black arrow in the lower right corner.

A dialog box with the appropriate name will open. In the appropriate fields in it, you can set exact values ​​for indentations. At the same time, below, in the “Sample” area, you can use an example to see how everything will change.

You can set it for the entire paragraph by specifying values ​​in the fields “Left”, “Right”. The paragraph indentation is set in the “first line” – “Indent” field, and the “Indentation” for the text in the paragraph is also set there. When you have selected the values ​​you want, click OK.

If you are interested in how spacing between paragraphs is made or removed in Word, read the article by following the link.

I think that now you will definitely be able to make indents and protrusions in the text for the entire paragraph or just for the first line in Word.

You can change the indentation - the distance between paragraphs - on the left or right, as well as the spacing in the document. You can also increase or decrease the indentation of a single paragraph or group of paragraphs within margins.

In this article

Indent the first line of a paragraph

Indent all lines of a paragraph except the first

You can create an indent, that is, add an indent not to the first line of a paragraph, but to subsequent lines.

Visual perception is an important component when working with any kind of information, including text. Visual memory “works” more efficiently when there is a clearly structured text in front of your eyes.

The most common and popular text editor is MS Word. It is this application that is used by the lion's share of users when it is necessary to prepare any text document. One of the essential attributes of formatted text is indentation. Properly placed paragraphs will help not only improve visual perception of information, but also highlight semantic blocks for a better understanding of the contents of the document.

How to make a paragraph in Word: ruler and its markers

One of the MS Word editor tools that is actively used when creating paragraph indents is the ruler. This attribute is located above and to the left of the main document field. If you don't see the "Ruler", check:

• Is the Page Layout mode set? If not, turn it on.
• Is the "Ruler" option enabled? To do this, go to the “View” tab and in the “Show” section, check the box next to the “Ruler” field.

As for the attribute itself, it is represented by 4 markers. 3 of them are located on the left side, 1 on the right.

• Bottom left marker - will indent the entire text (or a fragment of it) without highlighting the first line.
• Middle marker – will indent (shift to the right) the entire block except the first line of text.
• The top marker is for creating a paragraph in the text. Will create an indent exclusively for the first line - red line.
• The lower right marker is intended for setting the amount of indentation to the right (distance to the right margin).

When starting to edit text, decide what type of indentation you need and what its value will be. Next, proceed to formatting.

How to make a paragraph in Word: paragraph indentation on the left side

There are several ways to create this indentation.

Ruler

• Place the mouse cursor in the fragment in which you want to select the red line or select the entire text (Ctrl + A).
• By moving the bottom marker, set the required indent size.

MS Word Menu

• Select part of the text that requires indentation, or the entire document.
• Go to the document menu: “Page Layout” – “Paragraph” and click the icon in the corner with the arrow.
• Set the desired parameters for the left margin (the distance is measured from the set left margin).
• Click “Ok”.

How to make a paragraph in Word: paragraph indentation on the right side

In addition to the traditional left indentation, when formatting text, you may need to indent the right side.

• Select the document (press Ctrl + A) or part of it.
• Go to the “Paragraph” section of the “Page Layout” tab and click the arrow icon in the square (in the lower right corner).
• Set the required number of cm in the “Indent to the right” field.

Another way to set the right indent is to refer to the lower right marker on the “Ruler” and place it in the desired place. By simultaneously setting the right and left indents, you can achieve the desired location of a piece of text (in the center, shifted to the left or right).

How to make a paragraph in Word: red line

To highlight the next logical block of your document, it is rational to use the “red line”. This term implies the formation of an indentation (or protrusion) exclusively for the first line of a semantic fragment.

• If the user is working with the “Ruler”, you need to turn to the top marker and move it to the left to create a protrusion or to the right to create a paragraph.
• Or go to the “Page Layout” tab and in the “Paragraph” block click on the arrow icon. In the “Red Line” field, set the type of indentation (indentation or paragraph) and its value.

How to make a paragraph in Word: mirror indents

This option is especially in demand when printing a document in the “Book” format.

• Select text or a fragment of it.
• Go to “Page Layout” – “Paragraph” – “arrow icon”.
• In the formatting window, set the values ​​for indents (left and right) and check the “Mirror margins” box.
• The left and right padding options will change to “Inside” and “Outside” padding.
• Press the “Ok” key to apply the specified changes to the text.

If you want your text to be interesting and understandable, create a correctly formatted and competent document.