Indents

Indents are similar to margins in that it is text that is moved in from the edge of the page. However, there are two key differences between margins and indents:

1. Margins affect the entire document, while indents only affect selected paragraphs.
2. Margins are measured from the edge of the page, whereas indents are measured from the margin. In other words, if a paragraph has a 1" indent on a paper that has a 1" margin, the text of that paragraph starts 2" from the edge of the page.

There are four types of indents, each of which are demonstrated below:

In most cases, you can highlight the paragraph (or paragraphs) that you wish to indent and use the RULER located above the document to create the indents. There will be markers at either end of the ruler, two on the left and one on the right, which will adjust the indents for selected paragraphs. (NOTE: on the left indents, the top marker typically controls the first line of the paragraph, while the bottom marker controls the remaining lines of the selected paragraphs.) Click here to see a video demo of the indent markers being moved in Word 97. Notice the tool tips that come up. (247K)