KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q195198: WD97: How to Create an F4/F7 Hanging Indent Paragraph

Article: Q195198
Product(s): Word 97 for Windows
Version(s): WINDOWS:97
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbualink97 kbdta word97
Last Modified: 14-NOV-2000

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Word 97 for Windows 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


SUMMARY
=======

This article describes how to create a hanging indent (often described as an "F4
indent" or "F7 indent" by WordPerfect users). A hanging indent is a paragraph
that has a little text at the left, and the rest of the paragraph is indented,
as in the following example:

1. <TAB>  text text text text text text text text text text text text
          text text text text text text text text text text

Education: <TAB> text text text text text text text text text text text
                 text text text text text text text text text text text
                 text text

In Microsoft Word 97, Help for WordPerfect Users indicates that you cannot indent
a single line of a paragraph in Microsoft Word, and that a hanging indent is
created by pressing CTRL+M. This is incorrect.

Actually, you can create a hanging indent by pressing CTRL+T.

The "More Information" section of this article includes the following parts:

- Apply This Formatting Now

- Customizing a Hanging Indent

- Tips

- Formatting Methods to Avoid

MORE INFORMATION
================

Apply This Formatting Now
-------------------------

If you have already applied paragraph formatting to your text, remove it by
selecting the paragraphs and pressing CTRL+Q. Then use any of the following
methods:

- If you want numbers to appear at the left of your text, use the automatic
  numbering feature in Word. Select the text and click the Numbering button on
  the Formatting toolbar. If you already had numbers applied to some or all of
  your text, Word may remove them. Click the Numbering button again to make the
  numbers come back.

- If you want bullets to appear at the beginning of each paragraph, use the
  same method as above, but click the Bullets button instead.

- If you have different text that you want to use along the left margin, select
  all the paragraphs, and press CTRL+T. Then press the TAB key after the
  left-most text at the beginning of each line. This method is described in
  greater detail below.

Customizing a Hanging Indent
----------------------------

If the default settings are not in the right place for your document, you can
customize where the bulk of the text lines up. You can do this with the mouse
and the ruler, or with the Format menus.

With the Mouse and Ruler:

1. In a sample paragraph, press CTRL+Q.

2. Move the mouse to the ruler. Drag the bottom triangle and square to where you
  want the text to line up.

3. Between the text at the left and the rest of the paragraph, press the TAB
  key.

With the Format Menus:

1. On the Format menu, click Paragraph.

2. Select the Indents and Spacing tab.

3. In the Special box (under Indentation), click Hanging. In the By box, type
  the amount you want the text to move from the left margin and then click OK.

4. Move the insertion point between the text on the left, and press the TAB key.

Tips
----

- If the paragraph already has custom tabs, when you press CTRL+T, the second
  and subsequent lines move to the first tab stop.

- If you indent too many times and want to go back one tab stop, press
  CTRL+SHIFT+T.

Formatting Methods to Avoid
---------------------------

- Do not use spaces to line up text. Using multiple spaces causes text to wrap
  at odd points.

- If you have more than one line of text that you want to appear at the left,
  do not use a hanging indent. A hanging indent only allows one line to appear
  by itself on the left. A table is better suited for this task; to create a
  table, click Insert Table on the Table menu.

Example of a Table:

  Educational         text text text text text text text text text text
  Background          text text text text text text text text text text
                      text text text text text text

Additional query words: tab indentation indent rest beneath line up wp word perfect displaywrite display write control align alignment sentence numeric number bullet list portion

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbualink97 kbdta word97 
Technology        : kbWordSearch kbWord97 kbWord97Search kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Issue type        : kbhowto

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.