Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Hanging Indent Shortcut.
A hanging indent is created when the first line of the paragraph starts at the left margin but the second and subsequent lines are indented from the left margin. Hanging indents are a very common formatting tool in many documents.
If you like to use the keyboard to do your formatting, you may be interested in knowing how to format a paragraph to use a hanging indent just by using a keyboard shortcut. You do this in Word by pressing Ctrl+T. This "hangs" a paragraph to the next tab stop. If there are no explicit tab stops in the paragraph, then Word indents to the next default tab stop, typically one-half inch. Each press of the shortcut indents the hang one more tab stop. You can also use Shift+Ctrl+T to undo the indent by one tab stop.
You should note that this shortcut is rather generic in its effect. If you have different levels of hanging indent that you want to use in a document, or if you have quite a few such paragraphs to format, it is much more efficient to create one or more styles that define your hanging indents. You can then assign keyboard shortcuts to these styles and use them to apply the desired formatting.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12315) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Hanging Indent Shortcut.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
Laying out a document can be, at times, a challenge. This is particularly the case when you need some special document ...
Discover MoreWhen you get one paragraph formatted just the way you want, you might want to copy that formatting so it can be applied ...
Discover MoreNeed to easily adjust the vertical spacing that follows a paragraph? You can do it using dialog boxes or you can create ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Office 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
Comments