A hanging indent is a style of paragraph indentation in a word processing program. Unlike the first line indent where only the first line is indented, the hanging indent aligns the first line to the left side of the page and the other lines in the paragraph are indented slightly to the right. The process of creating a suspended indent depends on the word processing program you are using. However, the hanging removal option is usually listed in the formatting options.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Create a hanging indent in Microsoft Word
Step 1. Open your document in Microsoft Word
Step 2. Type the paragraph
The text will be useful to you and you will only need to move the cursor when creating the indentation.
Select the paragraph you want to indent
Step 3. Click the Format menu
This menu is located in the top horizontal bar. Scroll down and select the option Paragraph.
- In the 2007 version of Microsoft Word, click the small arrow in the lower right corner of the section Paragraph in the tab Layout. This will open the dialog box Paragraph.
Step 4. Select the Indents and Spacing section from the Paragraph menu
Step 5. Find the Withdrawal section
Click on the drop-down menu Special.
Step 6. Select Suspended from the list
Step 7. Choose the size of the indent on the left from the list
The default indent size is 1.25cm.
Step 8. Select OK to save the changes
The paragraph will be indented.
You can activate the suspended withdrawal option before typing your text. The suspended indent will automatically be applied to your paragraphs. Alternatively, you can select paragraphs and indent them, after typing the text
Method 2 of 2: Create a suspended indent in Open Office
Step 1. Open the document in Open Office
Step 2. Type your text into the document
Place the cursor near the text you want to indent.
You can also turn on hanging indent before you start typing. Open Office will use this format style by default
Step 3. Select the Styles and Formatting window from the drop-down menu
Step 4. Select Suspended Removal from the formatting options
Step 5. Define the indent size
Do this in the paragraph formatting toolbar. Close the formatting window that you used earlier.
- Select Format in the menu. Select Paragraph from the list of formatting options.
- Select section Indentation and spacing. You will see the options Before text and First line.
- Use the arrow buttons on the High and Low to increase or decrease the withdrawal.