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.
Learn how to set up and use tab stops in your Word for Mac document. Set tabs in a document in Word for Mac. Drag the tab marker off the ruler. Note In Microsoft Office Word 2007 or in Word 2010, click Table of Contents in the Table of Contents group on the References tab. Then, click Insert Table of Contents. Click the Table of Contents tab, and then click Show Outlining Toolbar. Note In Word 2007 or in Word 2010, skip this step.
Optional: Download our practice document.
Watch the video below to learn more about how to use indents and tabs in Word.
Indenting text
In many types of documents, you may want to indent only the first line of each paragraph. This helps to visuallyseparate paragraphs from one another.
It's also possible to indent every line except for the first line, which is known as a 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.
Place the insertion point at the very beginning of the paragraph you want to indent.
Press the Tab key. On the Ruler, you should see the first-line indent marker move to the right by 1/2 inch.
The first line of the paragraph will be indented.
If you can't see the Ruler, select the View tab, then click the check box next to the Ruler.
Indent markers
In some cases, you may want to have more control over indents. Word provides indent markers that allow you to indent paragraphs to the location you want.
The indent markers are located to the left of the horizontal ruler, and they provide several indenting options:
First-line indent marker adjusts the first-line indent
Hanging indent marker adjusts the hanging indent
Left indent marker moves both the first-line indent and hanging indent markers at the same time (this will indent all lines in a paragraph)
To indent using the indent markers
Place the insertion point anywhere in the paragraph you want to indent, or select one or more paragraphs.
Click and drag the desired indent marker. In our example, we'll click and drag the left indent marker.
Release the mouse. The paragraphs will be indented.
To indent using the Indent commands
If you want to indent multiple lines of text or all lines of a paragraph, you can use the Indent commands. The Indent commands will adjust the indent by 1/2-inch increments.
Select the text you want to indent.
On the Home tab, click the Increase Indent or Decrease Indent command.
The text will indent.
To customize the indent amounts, select the Layout tab near the desired values in the boxes under Indent.
Tabs
Using tabs gives you more control over the placement of text. By default, every time you press the Tab key, the insertion point will move 1/2 inch to the right. Adding tab stops to the Ruler allows you to change the size of the tabs, and Word even allows you to apply more than one tab stop to a single line. For example, on a resume you could left-align the beginning of a line and right-align the end of the line by adding a Right Tab, as shown in the image below.
Pressing the Tab key can either add a tab or create a first-line indent, depending on where the insertion point is. Generally, if the insertion point is at the beginning of an existing paragraph, it will create a first-line indent; otherwise, it will create a tab.
The tab selector
The tab selector is located above the vertical ruler on the left. Hover the mouse over the tab selector to see the name of the active tab stop.
Types of tab stops:
Left Tab left-aligns the text at the tab stop.
Center Tab centers the text around the tab stop.
Right Tab right-aligns the text at the tab stop.
Decimal Tab aligns decimal numbers using the decimal point.
Bar Tab draws a vertical line on the document.
First Line Indent inserts the indent marker on the Ruler and indents the first line of text in a paragraph.
Hanging Indent inserts the hanging indent marker and indents all lines other than the first line.
Although Bar Tab, First Line Indent, and Hanging Indent appear on the tab selector, they're not technically tabs.
To add tab stops
Select the paragraph or paragraphs you want to add tab stops to. If you don't select any paragraphs, the tab stops will apply to the current paragraph and any new paragraphs you type below it.
Click the tab selector until the tab stop you want to use appears. In our example, we'll select Right Tab.
Click the location on the horizontal ruler where you want your text to appear (it helps to click on the bottom edge of the Ruler). You can add as many tab stops as you want.
Place the insertion point in front of the text you want to tab, then press the Tab key. The text will jump to the next tab stop. In our example, we will move each date range to the tab stop we created.
Removing tab stops
It's a good idea to remove any tab stops you aren't using so they don't get in the way. To remove a tab stop, first select all of the text that uses the tab stop. Then click and drag it off of the Ruler.
Word can also display hidden formatting symbols such as spaces (), paragraph marks (), and tabs () to help you see the formatting in your document. To show hidden formatting symbols, select the Home tab, then click the Show/Hide command.
Challenge!
Open our practice document.
Use the Tab key to indent the beginning of each paragraph in the body of the cover letter. These start with I am exceedingly interested, While working toward, and Enclosed is a copy.
When you're finished, the first page should look like this:
Scroll to page 2.
Select all of the text below Training & Education on page 2.
Place a right tab at the 6' (15.25 cm) mark.
Insert your cursor before each date range, then press the Tab key. These dates include 2008, 1997-2001, and 1995-1997.
Select each job description under the Experience section and move the Left Indent to the 0.25' (50 mm) mark.
When you're finished, page 2 should look something like this:
/en/word2016/line-and-paragraph-spacing/content/
Word 2016’s paragraph-level formatting commands affect paragraphs in a document. That makes complete sense, but what is a paragraph? Officially, a paragraph is any chunk of text that ends when you press the Enter key. So a single character, a word, a sentence, or a document full of sentences is a paragraph, so long as you press the Enter key.
The paragraph symbol appears in a document to mark the end of a paragraph. Normally this character is hidden, but you can order Word to display it for you. Follow these steps:
Click the File tab.
Choose the Options command.
The Word Options dialog box appears.
Click Display.
Place a check mark by Paragraph Marks.
Click OK.
Now, every time you press the Enter key, the symbol appears, marking the end of a paragraph.
Formatting a paragraph
You can format a paragraph in several ways:
Change an existing paragraph. With the insertion pointer in a paragraph, use a paragraph-formatting command. Only the current paragraph format is changed.
Change a block of paragraphs. Select one or more paragraphs and then use the formatting command to affect the lot.
Just start typing. Choose a paragraph-formatting command, and then type a paragraph. The chosen format is applied to the new text.
To format all paragraphs in a document, press Ctrl+A to select all text in the document and then apply the format.
If your desire is to format several paragraphs in the same manner, consider creating a new style.
Locating the paragraph-formatting commands
In a vain effort to confuse you, Word uses not one but two locations on the Ribbon to house paragraph-formatting commands. The first Paragraph group is found on the Home tab. The second is located on the Layout tab. Both groups are illustrated here.
But wait! There’s more.
The Paragraph dialog box, shown in the following figure, can be conjured up by clicking the dialog box launcher button in either of the Paragraph groups. In it, you find controls and settings not offered by the command buttons on the Ribbon.
The obnoxious keyboard shortcut to summon the Paragraph dialog box is Alt+H, P, G. Don’t mock it! You will save time by memorizing this keyboard shortcut.
A smattering of paragraph-formatting commands are found on the mini toolbar, which shows up after you select text.