How to Indent in Word

This wikiHow teaches you different ways to indent paragraphs in Microsoft Word. Open your document in Microsoft Word. You can do this by double-clicking the file on your computer.

Method 1 of 3:

Indenting a Sentence

Open your document in Microsoft Word. You can do this by double-clicking the file on your computer.
Press Tab ↹ on the keyboard. This inserts a standard indent, which is 0.5' wide.^[1]
Type your sentence. Once you reach the end of the line, Word will automatically arrange your text so that only the first line contains that 0.5' space.

Method 2 of 3:

Indenting an Entire Paragraph

Open your document in Microsoft Word. You can do this by double-clicking the file on your computer.
Highlight an entire paragraph. To do this, click the mouse before the first word, then drag the cursor (don't let go of the button!) all the way to the end. When you lift your finger from the button, the paragraph should appear highlighted in blue.
Press Tab ↹ on the keyboard. The entire selected paragraph will move 0.5' to the right.
1. To move the paragraph another 0.5', press Tab ↹ again.

Method 3 of 3:

Using a Hanging Indent

Open your document in Microsoft Word. You can do this by double-clicking the file on your computer.
1. A hanging indent indents the second line of a paragraph instead of the first. This type of indent is most often used in bibliographies and reference pages.
Highlight an entire paragraph. To do this, click the mouse before the first word, then drag the cursor (don't let go of the button!) all the way to the end. When you lift your finger from the button, the paragraph should appear highlighted in blue.
Right-click the highlighted area. A pop-up will appear.
Click Paragraph….
Click the drop-down menu under 'Special.' It's in the 'Indentation' section.
Select Hanging.
Click OK. The second line in the paragraph will move 0.5' inward.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 05 March 2020

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