Skip to main content

How to do a hanging indent in Word

Depending on the nature of your work or projects, you may not use hanging indents often. A common use for them is in bibliography or works cited pages. If this is your first time using them (or if you just need a refresher), you may be wondering how to create one in Microsoft Word.

Difficulty

Easy

Duration

5 minutes

What You Need

  • A Windows PC or Mac

  • Microsoft Word

In this guide, we'll take a look at how to do a hanging indent on Word, on either a Windows PC or a Mac.

How to do a hanging indent in Microsoft Word on Windows

The following instructions can be applied to these versions of Microsoft Word for Windows: Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.

Step 1: Open the Word document you want to edit. Then select the paragraphs you want to indent.

how to do hanging indent in word on ms screenshot paragraph selection
screenshot

Step 2: Then select the Home tab, and within the Paragraph subsection, click on the dialog box launcher button, located in the bottom right corner of that subsection.

how to do hanging indent in word ms home tab paragraph button screenshot
screenshot

Step 3: Once the Paragraph dialog box appears, the Indents and Spacing tab should already be selected. Under that tab, and within the section labeled Indentation, there is a drop-down menu under the word Special. Click on that drop-down menu and select Hanging from the options listed in the menu.

Click OK. Your selected paragraphs should now show hanging indents.

how to do hanging indent in word ms paragraph options dialog box screenshot
screenshot

How to do a hanging indent in Microsoft Word on MacOS

Microsoft Word works a little differently if you have the MacOS version, but it's still possible to create hanging indents with the right steps. Here's what to do.

Step 1: Start by highlighting the specific paragraph or list that you want to start with a hanging indent.

Step 2: Now right-click on the highlighted text. In the menu that appears, choose the Paragraph... option.

how to do hanging indent in word choose paragraph the menu

Step 3: This will open the paragraph menu, which is quite similar to the menu used in the PC version. Look at the central Indentation section.

Step 4: Navigate to the Special dropdown menu, which by default is set to None. Select it, and choose Hanging.

how to do hanging indent in word menu macos

Step 5: Hanging indents will now be automatically enabled. The section to the left of Special shows how deep the hanging indent will be, starting with 0.5 inches. You can adjust this manually to a length that you prefer. When finished, select OK to make the changes.

Step 6: You can also choose Set as Default, which enables hanging indents for all your work. If you are working in a document where everything needs a hanging indent, you can choose this option. Otherwise, it's not necessary.

how to do hanging indent in word macos text

How to enable hanging indents in Chrome OS

We haven't forgotten about you Chromebook users! Chrome OS is designed to run fast and light, with a focus on web apps and cloud storage. That's why we recommend using the lightweight Microsoft Word web app, which you can access here by signing on with your Microsoft account. That will help save on space, but you'll need to know how the web app handles hanging indents.

Step 1: With a Word document open via Microsoft's online services, highlight the text that you want to change to a hanging indent.

how to do hanging indent in word web app indents

Step 2: Look at the right side of the upper menu options and find the three-dot icon for more settings. Select it.

Step 3: In the dropdown menu that appears, select Special Indent. Then select Hanging. The indent should now be applied.

Step 4: Note that documents created in this web app are saved to OneDrive and can be easily accessed from other computers.

Editors' Recommendations

Anita George
Anita has been a technology reporter since 2013 and currently writes for the Computing section at Digital Trends. She began…
How to recall an email in Outlook
outlook email

Recalling an email (or message, as the app calls them) in Outlook is easy. The desktop app includes a helpful option to recall and even replace a message you didn't want to send or want a second chance to reword. It's easy but not necessarily intuitive, so we're here to help guide you through how to recall an email in Outlook.

Read more
Microsoft Word Free Trial: Get a month of service for free
A person using MS Word.

Windows may be a staple Microsoft product, but even as a software company it delivers far more than the popular operating system. Microsoft also dominates the enterprise software space with its Office app suite, which is relied on by millions of professionals, students, and average folks around the world every single day. One of the more renowned Office apps is Microsoft Word, a versatile and capable word processor that's essential for typing and editing written documents, among other things (and there's a lot of things you probably didn't know you could do in Microsoft Word). Microsoft Office is paid software, however, Word included, and for some, the cost may seem high even with some of the best Microsoft Office deals floating around. So, if you're wondering if there's a Microsoft Word free trial or any other way to get it for free, read on to find out.
Is there a Microsoft Word free trial?

Microsoft Word is actually part of the company's wider Office app suite. Now known simply as Microsoft 365 (formerly Microsoft Office), Microsoft's enterprise software is available in a number of different packages that are now subscription-based; the company has retired the older bundles that were available for a one-time payment. That means if you want a Microsoft Word free trial, you'll need to sign up for the Microsoft 365 trial, which includes the Word app along with Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and Editor.

Read more
How to use the new communities feature in Microsoft Teams
The Microsoft Teams Communities features is now available for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family.

Microsoft has announced a new communities feature for its free Microsoft Teams communication platform that is intended for personal use rather than exclusively for large businesses.

The communities feature is available for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family and Teams Essentials accounts and allows users to easily organize, share, communicate, and collaborate in a hybrid manner. The feature allows you to not only connect online directly, but also to prepare for in-person meetings.

Read more