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Automatic First Line Indentation (Word for Mac)

Anonymous
2021-04-25T20:41:22+00:00

Here's the problem: I want to automatically indent the first lines of paragraphs in a document. Easy enough (format--paragraph--special (drop down to first line) OK. However, there are instances throughout the document when the fist line of a paragraph should not be indented. When I backspace/delete from the automatic indent, the line rejustifies to the left. Great. BUT once I do that it turns off the auto indent for the entire document. I have tried using it as the default for the document and the default for all documents. No luck. This is driving me crazy. I have specific formatting instructions that call for not using the tab key to indent. Any ideas?

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  1. Anonymous
    2021-04-28T09:17:15+00:00

    Hi JT286,

    Thank you for querying in this forum.

    We have read your description, and it seems that there are several paragraphs in your document, then you want to add Indentation for some paragraphs automatically, and some paragraphs don’t need to indent.

    If my understanding is right, as Bob mentioned above, we’d suggest you create two different styles, one Style includes the appropriate First Line Indent, and another style don’t contains Indentation but with the same font styles.

    We have tested it on our side, we went to Home tab > Style Panel > New style, then we created a new style named Normal2 which contains same font style, but we didn’t indent the first line paragraph, as shown below:

     ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/72053f36-aea6-4076-b5cd-3eae5dfa473c?platform=QnA"https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/cc1e06a2-73a7-4815-8e1e-5189c631077a?platform=QnA" rel="ugc nofollow">![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/cc1e06a2-73a7-4815-8e1e-5189c631077a?platform=QnA"https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/450c584b-71b7-4333-87b8-6608709ace76?platform=QnA" rel="ugc nofollow">![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/450c584b-71b7-4333-87b8-6608709ace76?platform=QnA"https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/customize-or-create-new-styles-d38d6e47-f6fc-48eb-a607-1eb120dec563" rel="ugc nofollow">Customize or create new styles.

    And if want to use Automatically Update, the paragraph with same text font will reformatting to the same paragraph style. In your situation, if you are using the same font style and the other styles except for paragraph style in all paragraphs, we don’t suggest you use Automatically Update.

    If the scenario above is not consistent with yours, you can also post back and point that, we will try our best to help you.

    Thank you for your patience so far.

    Best Regards,

    Sukie

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  1. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435K Reputation points
    2021-04-25T21:20:07+00:00

    Among may others, this is one of the most illustrative reasons why the use of direct formatting is discouraged :-)

    The better way to format is through the use of Styles. In this case, one Style that includes the appropriate First Line Indent & another which may be identical in all other respects but does not include the indentation.

    Further, it sounds like the Style currently being used has included the property to Automatically Update. As a result, when any changes are made to any paragraph on which that Style is applied all paragraphs of the same Style will be reformatted accordingly.

    Although somewhat more geared to Word for Windows the fundamentals outlined in this article by Shauna Kelly apply to Word for Mac as well. It isone of the more definitive works on the use of Styles:

    Tips for Understanding Styles in Word

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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  2. John Korchok 231.5K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-04-25T23:48:07+00:00

    When searching for Mac-specific information, include "for Mac" in quotation marks in your search terms. That will eliminate many useless Windows pages.

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  3. Anonymous
    2021-04-25T22:21:52+00:00

    Thanks for replying so quickly. The instructions I see on the links seem to pertain to PC users (for instance, I don't have a Visual Basic editor) so I'm having a hard time converting them. Do you know of any Word for Mac specific sites that might be helpful? I've had no luck finding one.

    Please note: I am not a young man and am not very computer savvy. I do appreciate the response and it's entirely possible that I'm simply incapable of following the instructions.

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  4. Charles Kenyon 166.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-04-25T21:26:04+00:00

    Hi,

    You have your style set to Automatically Update to match formatting. For most styles this is undesirable.

    See: Whole Document Reformatted by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP

    Long term, learn to use Styles, rather than relying on direct formatting.

    It will save you much time and many headaches.

    Importance of Styles in Word

    What you are talking about is the first-line indent. See Setting Tabs by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP

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