Knowledgebase | Jason Morrell

7 Paragraph Formatting Tools to Enhance Your Word Document

Q: 1. Ruler is not visible

Go to the View tab and check the Ruler checkbox to display indent markers

Q: 3. Hanging indent is not working

Check that you've selected Hanging from the Special dropdown, not First Line

In this post you'll master paragraph formatting in Word and learn how to indent paragraphs, adjust line spacing, control paragraph spacing, and create hanging indents.

Published: 04-Nov-2021
Last updated: 22-Oct-2025
Read length: 6 mins
Written for Windows desktop version

7 ways the paragraph formatting tools in Word can enhance your document design

This post will hand you complete control of the alignment, indentation (including hanging indents) and spacing of your paragraphs. This will enable you to . . .

Create professional-looking documents that follow industry standards and enhance readability
Save time by precisely controlling spacing and alignment without manual adjustments or guesswork
Format academic papers, business reports and publications with proper indentation styles

Let’s get straight to it.

1. How to Align Paragraphs in Word

On the Home ribbon, you’ll find the Paragraph group which contains the following 4 icons.

Simply click to place your cursor anywhere in the paragraph (you don’t need to select the paragraph first) then click the appropriate icon below.

Align the paragraph to the left margin.

Align the paragraph to the right margin.

Centre the paragraph text.

Justify the paragraph text. This spaces out the words so that text starts and ends at the left and right margins.

2. How to Indent Paragraphs in Word

How to indent paragraphs in Word using indent icons

To indent a paragraph:

1Place the cursor anywhere in the paragraph.

2Select the Home tab, if necessary.

3Click the Indent icon in the Paragraph group to increase the indent distance.

4Click the Outdent icon in the Paragraph group to decrease the indent distance.

Word paragraph spacing and indent controls in toolbar

Standard indents occur at 1.27cm increments (1.27cm = ½ inch), so with every click of the icon, the indent increases by 1.27cm.

You can also change the indent manually by clicking-and-dragging the indent marker (upward-pointing marker) on the ruler to a new position.

INTERESTING POINT

Many of the conventions used in Word originate back to the original printing press. For example, you will often see measurements of 2.56cm or 1.27cm which are metric conversions from imperial measurements. 2.56cm = 1″. 1.27cm = ½ inch. 0.164cm = ¼ inch.

You will also see ‘pt’ used throughout Microsoft Office. ‘pt’ is short for point. There are 72 points in one inch. If you are using font size 12, there are 6 lines of printed text per inch (because 6 x 12 = 72).

Why this convention is used today is anybody’s guess. It’s a historical thing.

3. How to Control Line Spacing in Microsoft Word

You may also space out the lines within a paragraph. You don’t specify a measurement here, just a unit.

1Place the cursor anywhere in the paragraph.

2Select the Home tab, if necessary.

3Click the Line and Paragraph Spacing icon in the Paragraph group.

4Select a number option from the Line Spacing drop-down list.

Line spacing options in Word paragraph formatting menu

4. How to Control Word Paragraph Spacing

To increase the amount of space between your paragraphs:

1Place the cursor anywhere in the paragraph.

2Select the Home tab, if necessary.

3Click the Line and Paragraph Spacing icon in the Paragraph group

If the before or after paragraph spacing are zero, the available options are:

Add Space Before Paragraph or
Add Space After Paragraph

Add space before or after paragraph in Word

But if the before or after paragraph settings are not zero, the available options are:

Remove Space Before Paragraph
Remove Space After Paragraph or

Remove paragraph spacing options in Word

It is often a mix of the two

Word paragraph spacing controls showing add and remove options

5. How to Create a Hanging Indent in Word

Back in the old days, a school essay would be written with the first line of each paragraph indented and the rest in line with the margin, like this …

First line indent paragraph formatting example

To do this, set the first line indent:

1Click the little launcher symbol in the bottom-right of the Paragraph group.

Paragraph dialog box launcher in Word Home ribbon

2Choose the Indents and Spacing tab, if necessary.

3Locate the Indentation section:

4Choose First Line from the Special drop-down list.

5Set the size of the indent in the By box.

First line indent settings in Word paragraph dialog

Sometimes you want the first line to be on the margin and all subsequent lines indented, like this …

Hanging indent Word paragraph formatting example

This is called a hanging indent.

1Click the little launcher symbol in the bottom-right of the Paragraph group.

2Choose the Indents and Spacing tab, if necessary.

3Under the Indentation section,

4Choose Hanging from the Special drop-down list.

5Set the size of the indent in the By box.

Hanging indent settings in Word paragraph dialog box

6. Explore the Paragraph Formatting Dialog Box

The paragraph alignment, indentation, line spacing, paragraph spacing and hanging settings can all be set from one single dialog box.

Click the little launcher symbol in the bottom-right of the Paragraph group to display the Paragraph dialog box.

From here, all the paragraph settings can be changed in one place.

Paragraph formatting dialog box launcher in Word

Word paragraph formatting dialog box showing all spacing and indent options

7. How to Apply Paragraph Alignment Styles

Beyond basic alignment options, Word allows you to save and reuse your paragraph formatting preferences as styles.

1Format a paragraph with your desired alignment, spacing and indentation settings.

2Select the Home tab.

3Right-click on a style in the Styles group.

4Choose Update [Style Name] to Match Selection.

This saves your paragraph formatting settings to the style, allowing you to apply consistent formatting throughout your document with a single click.

8. How to Remove Paragraph Formatting in Word

To reset paragraph formatting back to default settings:

1Select the paragraph or paragraphs you want to reset.

2Click the launcher symbol in the bottom-right of the Paragraph group.

3In the Paragraph dialog box, set all indentation values to 0.

4Set line spacing to Single.

5Set spacing before and after to 0 pt.

6Set Special to (none).

7Click OK.

Alternatively, you can quickly remove all formatting including paragraph formatting by selecting the text and pressing Ctrl + Spacebar, or clicking Clear All Formatting in the Font group on the Home tab.

9. How to Configure Paragraphs Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Speed up your workflow with these essential keyboard shortcuts for paragraph alignment and spacing:

Ctrl + L – Left align paragraph
Ctrl + E – Center paragraph
Ctrl + R – Right align paragraph
Ctrl + J – Justify paragraph
Ctrl + M – Increase paragraph indent
Ctrl + Shift + M – Decrease paragraph indent
Ctrl + T – Create hanging indent
Ctrl + Shift + T – Remove hanging indent
Ctrl + 1 – Single line spacing
Ctrl + 2 – Double line spacing
Ctrl + 5 – 1.5 line spacing

10. Troubleshooting Paragraph Formatting Issues

Here are some common paragraph formatting problems and their solutions:

1. Ruler is not visible

A: – Go to the View tab and check the Ruler checkbox to display indent markers

2. Indent buttons are greyed out

A: Ensure your cursor is placed within a paragraph, not in a table cell or text box

3. Hanging indent is not working

A: Check that you’ve selected Hanging from the Special dropdown, not First Line

4. Spacing between paragraphs is inconsistent

A: Use the paragraph dialog box to set uniform spacing rather than pressing Enter multiple times

5. Justified paragraphs create large gaps

A: This occurs with short lines; consider using left alignment or enabling hyphenation under the Layout tab

6. Cannot change the indent distance

A: Check if the document is protected or if you’re working in a restricted content control

11. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: What is the difference between line spacing and paragraph spacing?

A: Line spacing controls the vertical distance between lines of text within a single paragraph, while paragraph spacing sets the space before or after entire paragraphs.

Q2: How do I set a default paragraph format for all new documents?

A: Open the paragraph dialog box, configure your preferred settings, then click Set As Default. Choose whether to apply it to this document only or to all documents based on the Normal template.

Q3: Why does my justified text look uneven?

A: Justified alignment distributes words evenly across the line, which can create large gaps in short lines. Enable hyphenation or use left alignment for better readability.

Q4: What is the standard indent size in Word?

A: The default indent increment in Word is 1.27cm (half an inch), which reflects traditional typewriter and printing press conventions.

Q5: Can I apply paragraph formatting to multiple paragraphs at once?

A: Yes, select all the paragraphs you want to format by clicking and dragging, then apply your formatting choices. The changes will affect all selected paragraphs.

Q6: How do I create a first line indent for academic papers?

A: Open the paragraph dialog box, select First Line from the Special dropdown and set the indent to 1.27cm. This is the standard format for academic writing.

Q7: What’s the best line spacing for readability?

A: For most documents, 1.15 or 1.5 line spacing provides optimal readability. Academic papers typically require double spacing (2.0).

Q8: How do I remove extra space between paragraphs?

A: Click the Line and Paragraph Spacing icon and select Remove Space Before Paragraph or Remove Space After Paragraph as needed.

Q9: Why can’t I see my indent markers on the ruler?

A: The ruler may be hidden. Go to the View tab and check the Ruler checkbox to display it along with the indent markers.

Q10: What is the difference between a hanging indent and a first line indent?

A: A first line indent moves only the first line of a paragraph inward, while a hanging indent keeps the first line at the margin and indents all subsequent lines.

12. Key Takeaways

Paragraphs may be aligned to the left margin, right margin, centered or justified
Text may be indented from the left or right margins.
The lines within a paragraph may be spaced out using line spacing controls
The gap between paragraphs is controlled using before and after spacing settings
Text within a paragraph may be hung in 2 different ways or not at all
The Paragraph group on the Home ribbon contains all the tools to manipulate paragraphs
The Paragraph dialog box brings every paragraph setting into a single place for easy manipulation
Keyboard shortcuts provide quick access to common paragraph formatting options
Clear All Formatting quickly resets paragraph formatting back to defaults
Standard indent increments of 0.64cm, 1.27cm and 2.54cm represent ¼”, ½” and 1″.

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