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This article is based on legacy software.
This document will help you to use paragraph formatting options to achieve the desired look for your document.
Changing Paragraph Alignment
Text alignment, margins, and line spacing will affect the entire paragraph even if you have only a single word selected or the insertion point placed in the paragraph. To format multiple paragraphs, you need to select at least one character from each paragraph. You can align text with the right or left margins, center the text, or align the text with both margins.
Changing Text Alignment: Toolbar Option
Select the text to be formatted
Changing Text Alignment: Menu Option
Select the text to be formatted
From the Format menu, select Paragraph… The Paragraph dialog box appears.
Select the Indents and Spacing tab
From the Alignment pull-down list, select Left, Centered, Right, or Justified
Changing Text Alignment: Keyboard Option
Select the text to be formatted
Press the appropriate keyboard key:
Alignment Option KeystrokeAdjusting Line Spacing
You can add space between lines within a paragraph by adjusting the line spacing. For example, you may want your text double-spaced. This is an efficient way of adding white space.
Place the insertion point in the desired paragraph
From the Format menu, select Paragraph… The Paragraph dialog box appears.
Select the Indents and Spacing tab
In the Spacing section, from the Line spacing pull-down list, select the desired spacing option Options include Single, 1.5 lines, Double, At least, Exactly, and Multiple.NOTE: The At least, Exactly, and Multiple options require that you enter the amount of space between lines in the At text box.
Adjusting Paragraph Spacing
Instead of putting extra returns at the end of paragraphs, add additional space before and after paragraphs by adjusting the paragraph spacing. This can be especially useful when you want the blank line to be a different height from the text.
Place the insertion point in the desired paragraph
From the Format menu, select Paragraph… The Paragraph dialog box appears.
Select the Indents and Spacing tab
In the Spacing section, in the Before text box, type the amount of space (in points) to appear before the paragraph
In the After text box, type the amount of space (in points) to appear after the paragraph
Working with Indents
Rather than tabbing in the first line or every line of a paragraph, you can create an indent, which is the amount of space between the text and the page margin. You can adjust the indent for an individual paragraph, the indent for a group of paragraphs, or the margins for the entire document. If you are setting margins for the entire document, refer to Adjusting Document Margins.
Word offers three types of indents: normal indents, first line indents, and hanging indents. A normal indent inserts a specified amount of space between the page margin and all the lines in a paragraph. A first line indent inserts space between the first line and the page margin so it looks like you used a tab. A hanging indent uses a normal indent for the first line and then moves subsequent lines farther to the right.
Paragraph indents can be set using the Paragraph dialog box or the Ruler.
Working with Indents: Dialog Box Option
Place the insertion point in the desired paragraph HINT: If you are adjusting more than one paragraph, select all desired paragraphs.
From the Format menu, select Paragraph… The Paragraph dialog box appears.
Select the Indents and Spacing tab
In the Indentation section, in the Left and Right text boxes, type the desired amount of indenting (in inches)
To select a different indent for the first line, from the Special pull-down list, select First line or Hanging
If you selected a first line or hanging indent, in the By text box, type the desired amount of indenting (in inches)
Working with Indents: Ruler Option
Instead of using the Paragraph dialog box, you can make indent adjustments using the Ruler. Shown here is a graphic of the Ruler.
Type of Indent Appearance of Ruler Appearance of Text Normal IndentA Normal Indent looks like this
Hanging IndentA Hanging Indent looks like this
First Line IndentA First Line Indent looks like this
To set the indent:
Place the insertion point in the desired paragraph HINT: If you are adjusting more than one paragraph, select all desired paragraphs.