Download Article
Learn how to create a 0.5" indentation on the first line of every paragraph
Download Article
Do you want Word to indent the first line of every paragraph automatically? Fortunately, Word allows you to set the default to indent your new paragraphs with just a few simple menu changes. This wikiHow article shows you how to indent the first line of every paragraph in Microsoft Word.
Things You Should Know
- To indent lines in Word, right-click the "Normal" style and select "Modify." [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- Click "Format > Paragraph", and select "First line" to indent the first line of each paragraph. [2] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- Select "New documents based on this template" to make every document you open in Word work like this.
Steps
-
Put your cursor anywhere in a paragraph. These steps work for both Windows and Mac versions of Word. [3] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
-
Right-click the "Normal" style in the toolbar. It's in the Home tab when you're editing a document (in the "Styles" grouping).Advertisement
-
Click Modify . It's usually the second option on the menu next to an icon of a pen and an "A."
-
Click Format . You'll see this option in the bottom left corner of the window. [4] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
-
Click Paragraph . A new window will open.
-
Click the "Special" drop-down and select First line . You'll see the drop-down under the "Indentation" section. By default, indents are offset by 0.5 inches.
- If you want a bigger indent, change the number under "By" in the "Indentation" section.
- See how it will look with your indentation in the "Preview" window.
-
Click OK . If you want this change to apply to future Word sessions (like the next time you open the program to work on a doc), select New documents based on this template before clicking OK again to close the window. [5] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- This will not only indent the first line of every existing paragraph but will also indent lines as you write.
Advertisement
-
Open the Paragraph dialog box. On the lower right corner inside the “Paragraph” group, click the small arrow. You can open this through the “Paragraph” group in the “Home” tab or the “Page Layout” tab.
- You may do this before you start typing your document or if you have already typed a document. If you already have text in your document, highlight the paragraphs you want indented.
-
Find the “Indentations” section. This can be found in the “Indents and Spacing” tab.
-
Click the drop-down menu under “Special.” Select “First Line” to automatically indent the first line of each new paragraph. [6] X Research source
-
Enter the indent size. This is the amount that each line will be indented. The most commonly used size is 0.5” or 1/2 of an inch. [7] X Research source You can see a preview of the changes in the Preview section at the bottom of the dialog box.
-
Click OK to save your changes and apply them to the document. Click the “Set as default” button to set the changes to take effect automatically for new documents.
Advertisement
-
Click on the "Page Layout" tab at the top of Word.
-
Click the arrow at the bottom-right corner of the "Indents" and "Spacing" section. This arrow opens up the Paragraph Dialog Box.
-
Select the First Line option. Look for the heading "Indentations" in the Paragraph Dialog Box. In this section, there is a drop-down box with the heading "Special." Click the drop-down box and select "First line." [8] X Research source
-
Choose the amount you want the lines indented by. You can change this in the "By:" box. Half an inch (0.5”) is the standard indent size.
-
Click on "OK" and continue typing. Word will automatically indent the first line every time you press Enter.
Advertisement
Expert Q&A
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
Advertisement
Video
Tips
- If you want to prevent a line from being indented when this setting is on, hold the Shift key down while pressing Enter.Thanks
- In case you changed the appropriate settings but still don't see an indent in existing paragraphs, put your cursor at the beginning of a paragraph and press Backspace and Enter on your keyboard. This will manually add an indent to the line where your cursor is.Thanks
Submit a Tip
All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
Advertisement
References
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/indent-the-first-line-of-a-paragraph-b3721167-e1c8-40c3-8a97-3f046fc72d6d
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/indent-the-first-line-of-a-paragraph-b3721167-e1c8-40c3-8a97-3f046fc72d6d
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/indent-the-first-line-of-a-paragraph-b3721167-e1c8-40c3-8a97-3f046fc72d6d
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/indent-the-first-line-of-a-paragraph-b3721167-e1c8-40c3-8a97-3f046fc72d6d
- ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/indent-the-first-line-of-a-paragraph-b3721167-e1c8-40c3-8a97-3f046fc72d6d
- ↑ https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/microsoft-word/indentation
- ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/word/indents-and-tabs/1/
- ↑ https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/microsoft-word/indentation
About This Article
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 396,902 times.
Reader Success Stories
- "Very helpful guidance! It helped me a lot when I found out I need to click "first line" under "special". Thanks to the authors!" ..." more
Advertisement
"Very helpful guidance! It helped me a lot when I found out I need to click "first line" under "special". Thanks to the authors!"
..."
more
"This was amazing. All other tutorials didn't make it a real actual good indent. Thank you!"
"I needed to know how to make indents in Word 2007 and this illustrated article helped."
"As an older generation author, this helped with my limited computer skills. Thanks!"
"Specific steps that a person can use when he/she is typing."
