Align, Indent, and Space Paragraphs — Paragraph Dialog Box

When you click the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group on the Home tab or the Page Layout tab, the Paragraph dialog box opens. Use the Paragraph dialog box to align paragraphs, indent paragraphs, create hanging indents, create first line indents, and set the space before, after, and within paragraphs.

Align Paragraphs

Use the Paragraph dialog box to align the text in your document. Select Left in the Alignment field to align text flush with the left margin, Right to align text flush with the right margin, Centered to center text between the left and right margins, or Justified to align text flush with both the left and right margins.

Indent Paragraphs

Use the Paragraph dialog box to indent paragraphs from the left and right margins. You may find this necessary when you quote a large block of text. Type the amount you want to indent from the left margin in the Left field; type the amount you want to indent from the right margin in the Right field.

Create a Hanging Indent

A hanging indent indents each line of a paragraph, except the first line, by the amount you specify. Hanging indents are often used when numbering, bulleting, or creating a bibliography. Use the Special and By fields to create a hanging indent.

Create a First Line Indent

To indicate where a paragraph begins and ends, you can use the Special and By fields to indent the first line of the paragraph.

Create Space Before and After Paragraphs

Another way to indicate where a paragraph begins and ends is to use the Space Before and Space After fields. If you do not want spacing between paragraphs of the same style, check the Don’t Add Space between Paragraphs of the Same Style box. This option is useful when you are creating a list, because when working with a list, you may want space between the first item in the list and the paragraph that precedes it and the last item in the list and the paragraph that follows it, but no space between the items within the list.

Set Line Spacing

You can use the Paragraph dialog box to set line spacing. Select Single in the Line Spacing field to set the line spacing to single space, 1.5 to set the line spacing to one-and-one-half times the single space amount, or Double to set the line spacing to two times the single space amount.

If you want to customize your spacing, use the Line Spacing and At fields.

Custom Spacing
Line Spacing Field	At field
At Least	Enter the minimum amount of space you want between lines in points. If larger fonts or graphics appear on a line, Word will increase the line spacing to accommodate the largest font or graphic.
Exactly	Enter the amount of space you want between lines in points. If larger fonts or graphics appear on a line, Word will NOT increase the line spacing to accommodate the largest font or graphic. Text and graphics may overlap with the line above or below.
Multiple	Enter a multiple of the single space amount. For example, enter 2 in the At field to double space or 3 to triple space. If larger fonts or graphics appear on a line, Word will NOT increase the line spacing to accommodate the largest font or graphic. Text and graphics may overlap with the line above or below.

Note: Use the line spacing options discussed here, if you want to change your line spacing for selected paragraphs. If you want to change the default line spacing, use the Paragraph Spacing option on the Design tab in the Document Formatting group.

Align Paragraphs

1. Place the insertion point in the paragraph you want to align, or select the paragraphs you want to align.
2. Choose either the Home tab or the Page Layout 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 Alignment field and then click the alignment you want.
6. Make sure Body Text is selected in the Outline Level field.
7. Click OK. Word aligns your paragraph(s).

Indent Paragraphs

1. Place the insertion point in the paragraph you want to indent, or select the paragraphs you want to indent.
2. Choose either the Home tab or the Page Layout tab.
3. Click the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group. The Paragraph dialog box opens.
4. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.
5. Type the amount you want to set the right indent to in the Right Indent field.
6. Type the amount you want to set the left indent to in the Left Indent field.
7. Click OK. Word indents your paragraph(s).

Create a Hanging Indent

1. Place the insertion point in the paragraph you want to indent, or select the paragraphs you want to indent.
2. Choose either the Home tab or the Page Layout 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 Hanging.
6. Type the amount you want to indent by in the By field.
7. Click OK. Word creates a hanging indent.

Create a First Line Indent

1. Place your insertion point in the paragraph you want to indent, or select the paragraphs you want to indent.
2. Choose either the Home tab or the Page Layout 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 the first line by in the By field.
7. Click OK. Word indents the first line of your paragraph(s).

Create Space Before and After Paragraphs

1. Place the insertion point in the paragraph you want to place space before or after, or select the paragraphs you want to place space before or after.
2. Choose either the Home tab or the Page Layout tab.
3. Click the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group. The Paragraph dialog box opens.
4. Choose the Indents and Spacing tab.
5. Type the amount of space (in points) you want before the paragraph in the Before field. For example, type 10 pt.
6. Type the amount of space (in points) you want after the paragraph in the After field. For example, type 10 pt.
7. If you do not want paragraphs of the same style to have space between them, check the Don’t Add Space between Paragraphs of the Same Style box.
8. Click OK. Word sets the space before and after your paragraph(s).

Set Line Spacing

1. Place the insertion point in the paragraph that has line spacing that you want to change, or select the paragraphs that have line spacing that you want to change.
2. Choose either the Home tab or the Page Layout 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 Line Spacing field and then click the line spacing option you want.
6. If you selected At Least, Exactly, or Multiple in the Line Spacing field, type the line spacing you want in the At field.
7. Click OK. Word sets your line spacing.

What does the Outline Level field do?

When you create an outline—also known as a multi-level list—your outline can have up to nine levels. You can set the indents and spacing for each level. Use the Outline Level field to tell Word the level you are formatting. If you are not working on an outline, select Body Text in this field.

What are mirror indents?

When you print on both sides of your paper, you may want the inside margins to be larger than the outside margins so that you have extra space for binding. With that in mind, you may also want to adjust your inside and outside indents. When you check the Mirror Indents box, the Left and Right fields change to the Inside and Outside fields, respectively. Use these fields to adjust your inside and outside indents. When using these fields, keep in mind that most publications put odd numbered pages on the right side.