Please help with hanging indents

J

Jim

I am fairly new to Word, and I am using Word 2000.

I have my left margin set at 1". I then type a date, i.e. 04/27/05, hard
against the left margin. I then want to set a hanging indent (I think) at
1.8". At the 1.8" mark I am going to start typing my text, which may or may
not have multiple lines. If it does have multiple lines, I want each line to
start at 1.8".

Once I have finished my text, I will skip a line and enter another date,
i.e. 04/28/05, against the left margin. Then I want to start typing text at
1.8" again, just as in the paragraph above.

I am sure there has to be a simple way to do this, but the Help menus are
lousy in my opinion and I sure haven't found the answer.

When I was using WordPerfect, I would set a tab at 1.8", and before I
started typing my text I entered CTRL + F7, and the insertion point jumped to
1.8" and stayed there until I entered a Hard Return.

I would appreciate any help someone can give.

Thanks,
Jim
 
D

Daiya Mitchell

I would select All (control-A). Then click on the ruler to set your 1.8
tab. Then go to Format | Paragraph and set a 1.8 hanging indent. While you
are in Format | Paragraph, also add some Space After, which will save you
hitting enter twice between paragraphs to skip a line (which is bad
practice). Click to un-select all.

Then you should be able to type your date, hit tab once to go to 1.8, and
have the lines wrap to start at 1.8.

If you are going to make lots of documents like this, you should create a
template or use styles to apply the formatting.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/styles/TipsOnStyles.html
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart1.htm

And you may find this article useful:
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/SettingTabs.htm
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

This is overkill. On the ruler, drag the Hanging Indent marker to 1.8"
(you'll need to press Alt to set it there, though; if you can be satisfied
with 1.75" or 1.88", then just drag to one of the preset stops). Word
automatically sets a tab stop at the hanging indent. Daiya's advice to add
Space After is good, however.

Whenever you press indent, you'll get another paragraph in the same format.
Of course, if you want this to be truly consistent, you would be better
advised to apply a suitably formatted style. Interestingly, there is no
built-in "Body Text Hang" style, but the List styles have a built-in hanging
indent that can be customized.
 
J

Jim

Thanks Daiya:

I did what you told me and it works like a charm! I'm not sure exactly what
each step was, but as I get more familiar with Word I'm sure it will make
more sense.

Thanks again, and thanks for the references to the URLs. I will spend some
time reviewing each web site.
 
J

Jim

Suzanne:

I tried what yo said and it seems to work OK, but I have a couple of
questions:

1) In your second paragraph, you said "Whenever you press indent, you'll get
another ...". How do I press indent? Do I use the Tab key?

2) In your first paragraph, you mentioned using the Alt key to set the
Hangin Indent at 1.8". When I slide the Hanging Indent marker along the ruler
I don't see anything that tells me exactly where I am. When I selected a spot
on the ruler in WordPerfect, there was a numerical number in the bottom of
the window that told me exactly what spot I had chosen on the ruler.

Thanks for your help. All you guys and gals sure are a lot of help to those
of us trying to learn this thing!
 
D

Daiya Mitchell

I have problems trying to set Tabs or anything on the ruler, and so I sure
can't explain it very well. :) That's why it's overkill (generally a
mini-specialty of mine anyhow).

But I think select all is necessary, no? because if he had already hit Enter
a few times, it wouldn't apply to all lines, and I think that's one of the
most confusing things about Tabs. Or do I not understand how the ruler
works, in addition to not using it much? :)

Daiya
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Yes, definitely you would need to select all the paragraphs before changing
the indent; I just thought all those dialog trips were overkill.
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Sorry, that was a typo; I meant "when you press Enter." But if you already
have other paragraphs, you need to select them when you set the indent on
the ruler so it will apply to all of them. If you press the Alt key while
sliding the indent marker, you should see the measurements in the ruler.
 
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