Word 2013

Introduction

Video: Indents and Tabs

Watch the video (3:50).

Indenting text adds structure to your document by allowing you to separate information. Whether you'd like to move a single line or an entire paragraph, you can use the tab selector and the horizontal ruler to set tabs and indents.

Optional: Download our Lesson 11 Practice Document.

Indenting text

In many types of documents, you may wish to indent only the first line of each paragraph. This helps to visually separate paragraphs from one another. It's also possible to indent every line except for the first line, which is known as a hanging indent.

First line indent

Hanging indent

To indent using the Tab key:

A quick way to indent is to use the Tab key. This will create a first line indent of 1/2 inch.

1. Place the insertion point at the very beginning of the paragraph you wish to indent.
   
   Placing the insertion point
2. Press the Tab key. On the ruler, you should see the first-line indent marker move to the right by 1/2 inch.
3. The first line of the paragraph will be indented.
   
   The indented paragraph

If you can't see the ruler, select the View tab and then click the check box next to Ruler.

Showing the Ruler