Why is word indenting a paragraph

If you don't see a ruler at the top of the screen just under the ribbon and one to the left of the screen, as shown in Figure A , click the View tab and then check Ruler in the Show group. To the left of the horizontal rule the one at the top of the screen , notice the triangles and rectangle. The indent marker comprises these three elements. Each one means something specific to indents, which we'll cover more in depth later. Right now, the left margin is set to one inch from the left of the paper.

Technically, you could think of a margin as an indent, but Word doesn't treat it as such. There are no indents set right now. Instead of entering a few spaces, you might press the Tab key, which will move the cursor to the first Tab stop, which is one-half inch in from the left margin.

However, doing so doesn't move the indent marker on the rule. Although you moved the cursor, Word doesn't think of this tab space as an indent. In addition, pressing Tab won't necessarily move you a full half inch.

Tab stops are fixed. For now, think of tabs as a shortcut for multiple spaces. The thing to remember is this: Regardless of whether you use spaces or tabs to indent text, both are influenced by paragraph marks, or hard returns—the result of pressing Enter at the right margin to wrap to the beginning of the next line. However, that influence may or may not be problematic. However, on a copy of your manuscript not the original!

Also, if you are sending your manuscript to a book designer to be formatted in InDesign, you may want to reach out to him or her for help because indenting issues can sometimes be solved in InDesign. Best of luck!

Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Indent single paragraphs with the tab key 2. Indent all paragraphs with the ruler 3. Watch the video below to learn more about how to use indents and tabs in Word.

In many types of documents, you may want 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. A quick way to indent is to use the Tab key. If you can't see the Ruler, select the View tab, then click the checkbox next to the Ruler.

Press Backspace and then Enter. Repeat the process for subsequent paragraphs. On the Home tab, right-click the Normal style, and choose Modify.

On the Indents and Spacing tab, under Indentation , select First line. Note: If you always want first-line indentation whenever you start a new document, choose the New documents based on this template option before you select OK. Table of contents. Use Word for school. Write an equation or formula Article Indent the first line of a paragraph Article Double-space the lines in a document Article Create a bibliography, citations, and references Article Insert footnotes and endnotes Article.

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