How To First Line Indent Word For Mac

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How

First Line Indent Marker determines the left most edge of the bullet character itself. The selected block, or the current paragraph, automatically has an indented first line. To remove the first-line indent from a paragraph, repeat these steps and select (none) from the drop-down list in Step 3. Then click the OK button.

There are two types of indents that can be adjusted: paragraphs and bullet points. Each has a separate way of adjusting the indent size. Below are the different ways you can adjust the indentation in Microsoft Word.

  1. Now, one option is to simply type out the items on a separate line and then apply the bullets later or you can use Automatic Bullets that will happen by default when you use things like a dash, for example. Hit the dash on your keyboard, then hit the Tab key. Automatically, Word thinks you wanna start a list, indents the tab.
  2. Go to Home and then select the Paragraph dialog box launcher. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab. Choose your settings, and then select OK. The Paragraph dialog box options are described in Adjust indents and spacing.
  3. How To Use A Hanging Indent In Pages On a Mac It is easy to set a paragraph to use a hanging indent if you know one trick. But you can go much further with different techniques such as using rulers, creating reusable style, using specific text in bullet lists, or inserting text boxes.
  • First line indent with tab.
  • Indent paragraph with shortcut key.
  • Adjusting indents using the ruler.
  • Changing indents in the Paragraph window.
  • Adjust the indent on the Ribbon in Word 2007 and later.
  • Adjusting the bullet and numbering indentation.

First line indent with tab

The first line indent can always be created using the Tab key on the keyboard. To change the first line indent size or indent the full paragraph, continue reading the below suggestions.

Indent paragraph with shortcut key

A complete paragraph can be indented with the keyboard shortcutCtrl+M and pressing the keyboard shortcut more than once will indent the paragraph further.

Tip

To reverse the indent, you can also press Ctrl+Shift+M.

Adjusting indents using the ruler

To adjust a paragraph indent size, use the Ruler, which is below the menu bar and resembles the picture shown below. If this feature is not visible, see our document on how to enable the Ruler.

Towards the left side of the Ruler, look for indent markers that resemble an hourglass, like the image shown below.

The top marker (down arrow) controls the first line indent, and the middle marker (up arrow) controls the hanging indent (the indent for lines after the first line in each paragraph). The bottom marker (small box) controls the left indent. To adjust these indents, you can click-and-drag each marker to the right or left.

Tip

What Is First Line Indent

To change the indentation for an entire document, select all text in the document (press Ctrl+A), then adjust the indent spacing in the ruler as detailed above.

Note

If a large indent is created when pressing the Tab key and adjusting the indent on the Ruler doesn't work, adjust the Left Tab Stop in the Ruler.

Changing indents in the Paragraph window

Another way to adjust the indents is to view the Paragraph settings. To view this window, double-click the markers in the ruler, click Format and then Paragraph. You can also place the cursor in the paragraph, right-click with your mouse, and chose Paragraph.

How To First Line Indent Word For Mac File

As seen below in the Paragraph window, under the Indentation section, the left and right indent settings can be adjusted. You can also adjust the first line indent and hanging indent size under the Special option in the Indentation section.

At the bottom of the Paragraph settings window, you can preview the look of the indent sizes you are setting and make changes accordingly until you get it the way you want.

Adjust the indent on the Ribbon in Word 2007 and later

If you're using a newer version of Microsoft Word that uses the Ribbon, such as Word 2007 or 2013, do the following.

  1. Click the Layout or Page Layout tab.
  2. Adjust the indent settings in the Paragraph section.

To view the Paragraph window mentioned in the above section, click the small down arrow indicated by the red arrow in the picture below.

Adjusting the bullet and numbering indentation

LineTip

The easiest method of adjusting the bullets and number list in all versions of Word is to adjust the left indent through the Microsoft Word ruler bar.

Note

To adjust the spacing between the bullet and the text in a list, you may need to adjust the Left Tab Stop in the Ruler.

Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and later

  1. Click on one of the bullets at the level you want to change in the document.
  2. Right-click the bullet and select Adjust List Indents in the pop-up menu.
  3. In the Adjust List Indents window, change the Bullet position to adjust the bullet indent size or change the Text indent to adjust the text indent size after a bullet.

Microsoft Word 2000 and earlier

  1. Place your cursor in a bulleted or numbered line in the document.
  2. Click the Format menu at the top of the Word program and select the Bullets and Numbering option.
  3. In the Bullets and Numbering window, click the Customize button on one of the first three tabs, depending on the type of list you are changing.
  4. In the window that opens, adjust the indent size for the bullet position and the text position. At the bottom of the window, you can preview how the indentation sizing looks and make changes accordingly until you get it the way you want.

You can also access the Bullet and Numbering window by placing your text cursor on a bulleted or numbered line and right-clicking in the Word document. In the pop-up menu, select the Bullets and Numbering option.

Additional information

  • See our bullet and indent definitions for related information and links.