Creating a Hanging Indent

Hanging indent is the typographical term for a paragraph in which the first line is not indented, but subsequent lines in the paragraph are. Typically, hanging indents are used for numbered and bulleted lists. To create a hanging indent in Word, use the following steps:

1. Position the insertion point in the paragraph in which you want the hanging indent.
2. Choose Paragraph from the Format menu. You will see the Paragraph dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
3. In the Special drop-down list, choose Hanging. The By field changes to a value, most often one-half inch.
4. Adjust the By field to indicate how much you want each line in the paragraph (except the first) indented.
5. Click on OK.

Of course, Word provides shortcuts to create the most common application of hanging indents--numbered and bulleted lists. To apply these, you can simply use the appropriate Numbering or Bullets tools on the Formatting toolbar.