Indent the First Line of a Paragraph

You can use the Paragraph dialog box to indent the first line of your paragraphs. In the Special field, you tell Word you want to indent the first line by choosing First Line from the menu options. In the By field, you tell Word the amount you want to indent by.

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Indent the First Line of a Paragraph

1. Place the insertion point in the paragraph you want to indent, or select the paragraphs you want to indent.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group. The Paragraph dialog box opens.
4. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.
5. Click the down-arrow next to the Special field and then click First Line.
6. Type the amount you want to indent by in the By field.
7. Click OK. Word indents the first line(s) by the amount you entered.

Remove a First Line Indent

1. Place the insertion point in the paragraph with the first line indent you want to remove, or select the paragraphs with a first line indent that you want to remove.
2. Choose the Home tab.
3. Click the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group. The Paragraph dialog box opens.
4. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.
5. Click the down-arrow next to the Special field and then click None.
6. Click OK. Word removes the first line indent.

Can I use the Tab key to indent the first line of a paragraph?

If you press the Tab key and then start typing, Word tabs over. This indents the first line of the paragraph; however; this method creates a tab over, not a true first line indent.

After typing your paragraph, place the insertion point in front of the first character of the paragraph and then tab over. This creates a true first line indent if the Set Left and First Indent with Tabs and Backspaces box is checked. To check the status of this setting, perform the following steps: 1) Choose the File tab. A menu appears along the left margin. 2) Click Options. The Word Options dialog box opens. A menu appears along the left margin. 3) Click Proofing. 4) Click AutoCorrect Options. The AutoCorrect dialog box opens. 5) In the Automatically As You Type section, make sure Set Left and First Indent with Tabs and Backspaces is checked. 6) Click OK. The AutoCorrect dialog box closes. 7) Click OK. The Word Options dialog box closes. You can now use a tab to create a first line indent after you type a paragraph.

First Line Indent Shortcut Keys
Description	Shortcut Keys
Create a first line indent	Ctrl+M followed by Ctrl+Shift+T
Remove a first line indent	Ctrl+Q