How to Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word

How to Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word
How to Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word

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Tired of pressing the “Tab” key on every new paragraph in your file? Word allows you to automatically indent new paragraphs with just a few simple changes to the menu. Follow this guide to learn how to do it in Word 2007, 2010, and 2013.

Step

Method 1 of 2: Word 2010/2013

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 1
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 1

Step 1. Open the “Paragraph” dialog box

In the lower right corner in the “Paragraph” group, click on the little arrow. You can do this via the “Paragraph” group on the “Home” tab or the “Page Layout” tab.

You can do this process before you start typing the file or if you are already typing a file, you can highlight certain paragraphs to create an indent

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 2
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 2

Step 2. Find the “Indentations” section

This can be found in the “Indents and Spacing” tab.

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 3
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 3

Step 3. Click the drop-down menu under “Special”

Choose “First Line” to automatically indent the first line in each new paragraph.

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 4
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 4

Step 4. Enter the indent size

This is the size of the indent that will be created on each row. The most commonly used size is 0.5” or 1/2 inch. You can preview the changes in the “Preview” section at the bottom of the dialog box.

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 5
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 5

Step 5. Click "OK" to save the changes and apply them to your file

Click the “Set as default” button if you want these changes to take effect automatically for new files.

Method 2 of 2: Word 2007

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 6
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 6

Step 1. Click the "Page Layout" tab located at the top of the "Ribbon" in Microsoft Word

This section is circled in red in the image.

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 7
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 7

Step 2. Look at the sections named "Indents" and "Spacing"

Click on the small arrow in the lower right corner. This arrow is circled in red in the image. This arrow will open the “Paragraph” dialog box.

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 8
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 8

Step 3. Look for the “Indentations” section of the “Paragraph” dialog box

In this section, there is a drop-down box with the name "Special:". Click on the drop-down box and select "First line".

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 9
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 9

Step 4. Determine the size of the indent you want

You can change this via the "By:" box. The standard indent size is half an inch (0.5”).

Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 10
Indent the First Line of Every Paragraph in Microsoft Word Step 10

Step 5. Click "OK" and continue typing

Now Word will automatically indent the first line each time you press “Enter”.

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