A hanging indent is super useful when you’re dealing with things like bibliographies or citations. It basically makes the first line of a paragraph line up with the left margin while all the other lines are indented. This makes your document look neat and professional.
Method 1: Using Indent Markers
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First, put your cursor somewhere in the paragraph you want to format, or select the text you want to change.
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Next, take a look at the ruler at the top of your Google Docs. If you don’t see it, go to View in the menu bar and make sure “Show ruler” is checked.
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You’ll notice two little markers on the ruler. The small rectangle is the “First Line Indent” marker and the little triangle below it is the “Left Indent” marker.
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Click and drag the triangle (“Left Indent” marker) to the right. This sets how far all the lines will be indented.
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Now, drag the rectangle (“First Line Indent” marker) back to the left margin. This will move the first line of the paragraph back so that only it is not indented.
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You should now see a hanging indent on the paragraph. The first line will be at the left margin and the rest will be indented.
Method 2: Using the Format Menu
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Start by selecting the paragraph or text you want to apply the hanging indent to.
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Then, click on the Format menu in the top menu bar of your Google Docs.
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Hover over Align & indent, and then click Indentation options in the submenu that appears.
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A dialog box will open. Find the Special indent section, and from the dropdown menu labelled None, select Hanging.
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Enter how far you want the other lines to be indented in the By field. The default is 0.5 inches but you can change it as you see fit.
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Click Apply and the hanging indent will be applied to your selected text.
With the steps mentioned above, the selected paragraph now has a hanging indent.