Leading the way in Microsoft Office Development

Step 1 - Types of Indentation

There are three different markers that appear on the ruler to indicate the indentation defined for a textbox:

There are actually only two different types of indentation marker because the third one is actually a group marker.

Step 2 - First Line Indent

Step 3 - Hanging Indent

Moving this marker will change the space between the actual bullet character and the start of the associated text.

Step 4 - Second Line Indent

The hanging indent is essential when you want to use bullet points but it can cause problems if you do not use bullet points.

Any lines of text that span more than one line will be aligned according to the position of the handing indent.

When a paragraph is not bulleted the first line indent indicates the position of the first line of text.

When a paragraph is not bulleted the hanging indent indicates the position of the second (and subsequent) lines of text.

Notice that the position of the hanging indent does not change when you toggle between bullets and no bullets.

The only way to rectify this problem is to manually move the hanging indent in line with the first line indent

To change the position of the hanging indent, click on it with your mouse and drag it to the left, in line with the first line indent.

You can hold down the Ctrl key if you need greater precision.

Step 5 - Things to Remember

For more accurate positioning of the indent markers hold down the Ctrl key as you drag.

All the default tab stops are left aligned.

When you press Tab you are advanced to the next level of indentation

Pressing (Shift + Tab) reduces the indent level.