Indents are used to make text stand out. while using hanging indents the first line stands out as it is the only one hitting the margin. This tutorial takes you through how to do a hanging indent on word online.
How to do a hanging indent on word online? Select the paragraph you would like to format > click on home > open the dropdown menu near paragraph > under indentation select hanging from the special section. Hanging indentation can be formatted i.e., increased or decreased depending on your requirements.
How to add hanging indent on word online
To add hanging indent in word online follow these steps
- Locate and open the document you want to format. Hanging indent can be done while typing the content as well. But if the content is already present selecting it becomes necessary
- Select the content that needs to be formatted. Simply left-click the first word of the paragraph and drag it down to the last without releasing the click.
- Once the content is selected click on Home
- This will open a menu with numerous editing and formatting options
- Got to the section titled Paragraph and click on the arrow on the bottom right corner You will now have a popup menu open
- This menu has options to format the alignment spacing and indentation of the paragraph. In the indentation, section, go to special and click on the arrow to reveal a dropdown menu.
- Select Hanging
lastly, click on OK to save the changes made. The paragraph will look something like this.
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How to format hanging Indent in Word?
Let us see, how to format hanging indent in Microsoft word online
Formatting indent can be done from the same popup menu used to insert it.
Once you have the menu open you can increase or decrease the space before and after the text
You can also increase the indent and add tab stops.
Major formatting when it comes to indents will come in the form of space before and after the text.
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How to do a hanging indent on word online on Mac?
Let us see, how to do a hanging indent on word on mac.
In mac systems, the process is a little different compared to windows. We can use hanging indent in Mac like below:
- Open the document that needs to be edited. this can be done by logging onto the application or on one drive.
- Select the paragraph that you need to add an indent to
- now fo to Format
- From the dropdown menu select Paragraph,
- you will now have a pop-up menu go to the section titled Special and select Hanging
- The indent can be adjusted using the By option.
- Click ok and your changes will be saved and will reflect on the document
This is how to make a hanging indent on word online on Mac.
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How to do a hanging indent on word online on an Android device?
Here is how you can add a hanging indent to text on your android device
- Open the document that needs to be formatted.
- Select the text that needs to be formatted.
- Click on the edit option
- The menu at the bottom will open with numerous formatting and editing options.
- Click on home
- Scroll down in the home menu and select Paragraph Formatting
- Under Paragraph, the first option is Special Indent
- Select it
- You can choose from the first line and hanging.
- After making a selection click on the tick to save your formatting
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How to remove hanging indent from Word on an android device?
- To remove hanging indent from Word on your android device start by selecting the text
- After the text is selected click on the editing option to open the formatting menu at the bottom
- From there click on Home
- Under home select Paragraph formatting
- Select Special Indent
- in this section select None to remove the indent
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Hanging indent on word online for iOS
There is a lot of debate about how to get a hanging indent on iOS here is a step-to-step guide
- Open the document that needs to be formatted
- You will need to enable the ruler in the Microsoft word app
- Select the text that you are planning to work with
- Drag the lower triangle of the rule to create a hanging indent
How to remove hanging indent in iOS?
To remove the indent
- Select the text that you want to format
- Move the lower triangles corresponding to the text back to their initial position
- This will remove the indent and the text will go back to the block format it was in previously.
How to indent a specific line in Word Online?
There are two ways in which you can indent a paragraph, you can indent the first line or the second. This section looks at how to indent a line in Word online.
- Scroll through the document and go to the paragraph you would like to format.
- Click on the first word of the paragraph to move the cursor there
- Go to Layout in the top ribbon of the document.
- You will see the paragraph section
- Click on the outward-facing arrow at the bottom right
- You will have a popup menu with paragraph formatting options.
- Go to the section titled Indentation
- Click on the arrow next to Special for a dropdown menu
- Select the First line
- In the section titled you can specify the indentation size.
- Click on OK to save and apply changes.
How to indent in word when it won’t let you?
To add a hanging indent to text in a Word online document can get frustrating when you follow the steps but the indent doesn’t happen. Here are the possible reasons why you would face an issue with indent with possible solutions.
The most common reason you cannot add an indent to text is that you are in the wrong mode.
To check the mode you are in
- Open the document you would like to edit
- Next to Help in the top ribbon, you will see the mode.
- In Word online you have 3 modes namely Editing, Reviewing, and viewing. You will be able to add an indent only if you are in the Editing mode.
- To change the mode click on the section for a dropdown. You can select the option by clicking on it.
- Once in the Editing mode, You will be able to indent.
- Go to the paragraph or line that needs to be indented and click on the first word. The cursor will start blinking at this position. You do not need to highlight the paragraph.
- Go to the paragraph section and follow the indenting procedure.
The above solution will work only if you are the owner of the document. You will need permission to edit if you are not the owner. The owner of the document will need to edit permissions.
The second reason why you cannot indent text is that you haven’t selected it.
To indent text it needs to be selected. If the selection is not done you will not be able to indent. Be sure to select text before indenting.
Another reason why you cannot indent text is that you are not selecting OK after selecting the indent. To save the changes made to the document you will need to use the OK button. It is a means of application. If you make all the changes and click outside the menu the changes will not be saved and applied to the document.
What is the default indent spacing in Word?
When you select a paragraph or line to indent you will notice that the indent is at 0. You can increase the indent by clicking on the upward-facing arrow. Indents are closely related to the tab positions so to set a default indent you will need to set a default tab position. Here are the steps to follow.
- Open the document you would like to work on
- Click on the sentence or line that you would like to indent
- Click on Layout in the top ribbon of the document.
- Go to the paragraph section and click more options (the outward-facing arrow)
- You will have a popup menu
- Click on Tab stop options
- You will have an extended menu
- Define the default tab stops.
- After setting the tab stops click on OK to apply.
Caution: The unit used here is inches so be careful when placing tabs.
How to indent a paragraph in Word?
Paragraphs in Word can be intended to the left or the right. You can do this using simple steps. Here is how to indent an entire paragraph in Word Online.
- Click on the paragraph that you would like to indent
- You will see the cursor blinking
- Click on Layout in the top ribbon of the document.
- In the Paragraph section, you will see the indent section
- To indent the paragraph from the left use the arrow to increase or decrease the indent.
- If you need to indent the paragraph on the right you can use the up and down arrows to increase or decrease the indent.
Indents can be adjusted at any time. Use the arrows to increase or decrease the indent. Along with Indent, this section allows you to increase the space before and after the paragraph as well. If you are looking for a special indentation click on more (the outward-facing arrow) and you can indent the first line, have a hanging indent, and also remove the indent completely.
If you are using a special indent you can increase or decrease the space using the arrows in the section titles By. Once you have indented the paragraph click on OK to apply the changes.
Frequently asked questions
To enable hanging indent, you will sometimes need to do it manually using the ruler. To turn on the ruler go to View and select ruler.
If you are having trouble finding the option or want another method go-to word > preferences > Authoring and proofing tools > View > in the dialogue box select the Vertical rule box.
The keyboard shortcut for hanging indent is Command + T.
If the command does not work well or if there is an issue with the command.
Here is what you can try: For this, you can click on tools > Customize Keyboard and select the format category > pick hanging indent from the command list > in the new keyboard shortcut press Command + T, and click the assign button > Click ok
Highlight the references list that you have typed out, Click on the home tab and go down to a paragraph.
In the indentation section under special choose hanging and then Click ok to save the changes.
Conclusion
Hope you found this tutorial helpful. It took you through How to make a hanging indent on word online. It also looked at the ways in which Indents can be formatted in Word online, the desktop version, and also on phones and tablets. The article also looked at keyboard shortcuts to indent text.
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My name is Carissa Gudino and I am an expert in word online, using Word Online in my day-to-day tasks. In this blog, I will share with you tips and tutorials on how to use word online to its fullest potential. I work for various clients in various countries like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. My tutorials are designed to help beginners, as well as more experienced users, learn new tricks and tips on Microsoft word online. Check out more.
