How to Create a Hanging Indent in Word

Hanging indentation, also called second-line indentation, helps to add visual appeal to text while making it easily readable. However, it’s not as common as other indentation methods. For that reason, most people have difficulty figuring out where to find the hanging indentation tool in Microsoft Word and how to apply and use it. Worry not, as this guide will teach you the best ways to do a hanging indent in Word.

How to Apply Hanging Indent in Word

A hanging indentation leaves the first line of the paragraph, starting at the left margin, and the subsequent lines are indented to the right. It’s commonly used in biographies and academic and legal work to distinguish and separate specific text elements. Here’s how you apply hanging indentation on a Word document. 

Using the Layout Tool

1. Create a new Word document and type your text, or open an existing document with the text you want to indent. 
   
2. Ensure you’ve separated the paragraphs using the Enter key. 
3. Select the text you want to indent.
4. Go to the menu bar at the top and select the Layout option. Alternatively, right-click on the selected text to bring the list of formatting options. Select Paragraph from here.
5. Navigate to the Paragraph section and tap the Small arrow icon in the bottom right corner. 
   
6. In the paragraph dialogue box, go to Indentation.
   
7. Click the drop-down menu beneath Special and choose Hanging.
   
8. By default, Microsoft sets the Word indentation at 0.5 inches. You can use the up and down arrows to the right to increase or increase this, respectively. You can change Word’s indentation to inches if it’s set to cm.
   
9. The Preview section at the bottom of the window shows your changes. If everything looks right, hit OK at the bottom to automatically indent your text. 
   

Through the Paragraph Tool

1. With the text you want to indent selected, tap the Home tab in the menu bar at the top. 
2. In the toolbar that opens below, move to the Paragraph section. 
   
3. Tap the Small arrow icon in the bottom right corner to open the paragraph dialogue box. 
   
4. Move to the Indentation section.
   
5. Tap the drop-down menu beneath Special and select Hanging.
   
6. Adjust the indentation length using the arrows to the right according to your preferences. 
   
7. You can see your changes in the Preview section at the bottom of the window. If everything looks right, hit OK to finish.
   

Using the Ruler

Here is how you use the ruler to do hanging indentation on Word:

1. Launch the Word document and select the text you want to indent. 
   
2. Move to the toolbar and tap the View option. 
   
3. Go to the Show/hide section and select the Ruler option. A ruler appears at the top of the Word document. 
   
4. To the left of the ruler, you’ll see two triangles – one at the top and the other at the bottom. 
   
5. Drag the triangle at the bottom up to the inches mark you desire. Ensure you’re only moving the bottom triangle because if you move both, even the first sentence will become indented. 
   
6. Once you finish, return to the toolbar and uncheck the Ruler. 
   

Using the Keyboard Shortcut

Using a keyboard shortcut to indent text on Word is the fastest method. This way, you don’t have to navigate menus and dialogue boxes.

1. Open the Word document and select the text you want to indent. 
   
2. Press Ctrl + T (or Cmd + T if you’re on a Mac) on the keyboard to automatically indent the text. 

The only downside of this method is that it uses the default Word indentation measurements (0.5 inches). If you want to use different measurements, you must use the above methods. 

Indent Your Document the Right Way

If you frequently use Word to prepare academic and business content, you might need hanging indentation to enhance the document’s appearance. Note that this is not peculiar to Word, as you may use hanging indentation in Google Docs and other word processors.

FAQs

Can I indent a few lines instead of the entire paragraph? 

Unfortunately, in hanging indentation, you can’t indent a few lines in a paragraph and leave the others unindented. The indentation will apply to the other lines even if you select a few lines in the paragraph. It’s only the first lines that remain unindented.

Is it possible to use different levels of hanging indents in the same document?

You can use different levels of hanging indentations in one document. Select each section at a time and apply the desired indentation. The paragraph formatting dialogue box can increase or decrease the indentation to meet different preferences. 

Do I have to set the indentation preferences each time I use Word? 

Since Word doesn’t have an option for saving custom hanging indentations, you must set indentation preferences each time. Alternatively, you can make a template document with your indentation to avoid repeating the process each time.