Spaces are used to indent the first line. How to customize paragraph formatting in Word

The paragraph configuration is characterized by indentations at the top and bottom, spacing on the left and right, line spacing, first line indentation, text alignment mode to fit the page width and some other parameters. Let's explore techniques for adjusting these values.

1. Launch Word and type several dozen words in a new document that automatically opens, for example, enter the text of any paragraph of this book. Please note that when the text reaches the right edge of the page, it automatically wraps to the next line.

2. When you finish entering a paragraph, press the Enter key. The text cursor will move to new line, marking the end of the current paragraph and preparing the word processor to enter the next one.

3. Enter a few more paragraphs.

4. Click the button Markup mode Switch to Page Layout view, which allows you to see the exact text formatting. (Use this document viewing mode throughout the lesson.)

5. If there are no vertical and horizontal rulers on the screen, turn them on with the command View > Ruler. Now Word window will look something like the one shown in Fig. 6.1. To set the distances from the boundaries of the left and right margins of the page to the paragraphs of a certain block of text, you need to adjust the block indents. When you change the page margin width, paragraph sizes are modified so that the margin margins remain the same. To adjust the indentation of a block of text, you must first select the text. If you need to modify the parameters of only one paragraph, simply place the text cursor in it.

6. Highlight the second and third paragraphs.

Rice. 6.1. Five paragraphs and rulers in page layout mode in Word

7. On the left side of the horizontal ruler, find the triangular marker First line indent, the top of which is directed downwards, grab it with the mouse and drag it to the right 3 cm. By moving this marker, you can change the position of the beginning of the first lines of the selected paragraphs without changing the indentation of the rest of the text. Note that the first line can start either to the right (indent) or to the left (indent) of the main text.

8. Drag the marker to the right 1 cm Ledge, having the shape of a triangle, the vertex of which is directed upward. The left indentation of paragraph bodies will change, but the indentation of the first lines will remain the same.

9. On the left side of the horizontal ruler there is another marker in the shape of a rectangle - Left indent. Drag it to the right 1 cm. You will see that moving this marker is equivalent to synchronously shifting the markers First line indent And Ledge at the same distance, that is, it leads to an offset of the left edge of the paragraph relative to the page margin.

10. Click on the text of the second paragraph, deselecting the block of text and placing the cursor in the body of that paragraph.

11. Drag the marker to the left 4 cm Right indent, located on the right side of the horizontal ruler. It specifies the right margin of the paragraph.

After all the operations performed, the text looks as shown in Fig. 6.2.

Rice. 6.2. Setting indents in Word

12. Click on the button Centered toolbars Formatting.

Rice. 6.3. Alignment Modes

Rice. 6.4. Paragraph Options Dialog Box in Word

13. Select the third paragraph and click on the button Right the same toolbar.

14. Click on the fourth paragraph and then on the button Width. Now the first four paragraphs of text demonstrate the four text alignment modes (Figure 6.3).

15. Select the second, third and fourth paragraphs and select the command Format > Paragraph. Tab Indents and spacing The dialog box that opens (Fig. 6.4) allows you to set paragraph indents and alignment mode, which we configured using the horizontal ruler and toolbar buttons Formatting. Chapter Interval the same tab allows you to set the spacing between lines within a paragraph and the distance between paragraphs.

Rice. 6.5. Setting spacing in Word

16. Enter the number 6 in the counter.

17. In the interline list, select One and a half(1.5 tines).

18. Click on the button OK. The spacing in the three highlighted paragraphs will change and become as shown in Fig. 6.5. Please note that the area Sample dialog boxes Paragraph allows you to observe the influence of the entered values ​​on the appearance of the current paragraph even before the final application of the selected parameter values ​​to the text of the document.

19. Save the document, it will be useful to you in the following exercises.

Lesson "Paragraph indentations and spacing"

§ 2.1. Basic Concepts

Basic structural unit word processor is a paragraph.

Paragraph (from a literary point of view) - this is a part of the text that represents a complete segment of the work, the end of which serves as a natural pause for the transition to a new thought.

IN computer programs paragraph Any text that ends with a paragraph marker is considered, i.e. by pressing the key (Enter). In non-printing characters enabled mode, the paragraph marker is displayed as a ¶ symbol. The paragraph marker is an important symbol that contains information about paragraph formatting, so it is more convenient to display special characters when working with texts. In this case, an electronic paragraph can consist of any set of characters, a picture, an object created by other applications, or even contain nothing.

A paragraph can consist of either one word (for example, in the case of preparation for) or of an arbitrary number of lines.

If you reach the right margin of the page while typing, the text automatically wraps to the next line.

In the editor Wordthere is no need to track the ends of lines within a paragraph. It is enough to determine the beginning of a new paragraph.

To get started new paragraph, make sure the cursor is where you want to start a new paragraph, and then press[ Enter].

§ 2.2. Paragraph formatting (setting options)

Text editor Wordallows you to set attributes for a paragraph.

§ 2.3. Paragraph alignment (justification)

Alignment reflects the position of text relative to the vertical boundaries of the type bar.

There are four most commonly used ways to align paragraphs:

Below are examples of paragraph alignment:

Some editors provide a complete shutdown when even last line the paragraph is “stretched” to the right edge.

To align selected paragraphs select the appropriate item from the Alignment drop-down list in the dialog box<Абзац>or toolbar buttons. If there are no selected paragraphs, the alignment setting will be applied to the paragraph in which the cursor is located.

First line indent (red line). Most often, a paragraph begins with a first line indent. This indentation could be:

- positive , when the first line begins to the right of all other lines of the paragraph, used in regular text;

- negative (protrusion), when the first line goes to the left relative to the remaining lines, used in dictionaries, definitions;

- zero , used for centered paragraphs and plain text.

For example:

To set the indentation of the first line of a paragraph, enter the corresponding value in the input field “First line: On...” When setting the left (right) indentation, type or select desired value paragraph indentation from the left (right) margin. If you want the text to be in the left (or right) margin, set it to a negative value.

If the red line visually separates paragraphs from each other, then in the case of zero indentation of the first line, intervals (spaces) are installed before each paragraph.

In addition to the first line indent, the entire paragraph can have left and right indents, which are measured from the margin border. So the epigraph to work of art or the addressee's details in the application are indented on the left, and when making a corner stamp, you can use the indentation on the right. Without formatting paragraphs, it is not only impossible to prepare well-formatted text, but also to format a table, organize a list, or place a picture on a page.

When setting the spacing before (after) a paragraph, type or select the desired distance before the first line for each selected paragraph. This value must have a positive decimal value.

In the process of typing numeric values ​​for intervals, indents and mouthsadding some other options, Wordallows you to use differentnal units of measurement:

Creating a paragraph indent, for all its simplicity and prosaicness, often raises many questions. They concern what and how to do paragraph indentation, and how to eliminate design errors, and what traditions need to be followed for different purposes.

Why do you need paragraph indentation?

A red line, or paragraph indentation, greatly facilitates the perception of text, as it visually separates one paragraph from another, structuring the printed page and emphasizing the logical composition of the text.

In paper publications, paragraphs are distinguished by the fact that the beginning of each of them is moved several characters either to the right (in regular texts) or to the left (in presentation texts, booklets, or if the design idea requires it).

On browser pages (in Internet texts), paragraphs do not contain indentations, but are separated from each other by an additional line (or increased spacing).

These two design options should not be confused. When laying out a paper publication, you should use paragraph indents and not separate fragments of text with increased spacing, and when preparing text for publication on the Internet, it is better to use a blank line or increased spacing - it is in this form that both paper and online text will be convenient for reading.

Create a red line using the Paragraph dialog box

Paragraph indentation in Word can be created in several ways.

Select the text (the “Select All” tool or Alt and A(F)) and open the “Paragraph” dialog box: “Page Layout” tab, click on the dialog box launcher button ( small icon to the right of the word “Paragraph” is a triangle inscribed in a square). In the window that appears, select the “Indents and Spacing” tab, find the “Indentation” option and in the “Indents” group set the “First Line” parameter. The Paragraph dialog box can also be accessed from the Home tab, Paragraph group.

Creating a red line using a ruler

Select the text and adjust the indentation using the slider on the ruler. There are two sliders on the right - upper and lower. The bottom one is for aligning regular lines, the top one is for aligning red lines. As you move the top slider, the paragraph indents will change.

Erroneous formatting using spaces

Editors and proofreaders of book publishing houses, as well as university teachers, very often have to deal with errors in the design of paragraph indents in manuscripts.

The most common of them is paragraph indents created using spaces. For some reason, many people prefer to align text, headings, and verses using spaces. Often there are even empty lines and text moving to the next line using this sign. Of course, this makes the work of creating the text time-consuming and the text unruly. When formatting and layout, lines “go”, paragraph indents may turn out to be of unequal length, etc. Layout of such text is very problematic: first you need to get rid of numerous spaces. Regarding the registration of student qualification works, then, unfortunately, the use of spaces damages the student’s reputation, since he looks very “dense” and inept.

Inappropriate formatting using tabs

The second mistake is the inappropriate use of the Tab key. Not only does the text contain unnecessary characters that interfere with the final processing and preparation of the text for printing, they significantly complicate the work on creating the text, obliging the author to endlessly press the key. In addition, the design of paragraph indents using tabulation entails errors: firstly, according to statistics, the author regularly forgets to press a key when starting a new paragraph, and secondly, errors appear when the author decides to break an existing paragraph into two or more.

It is better to use tabulation only when formatting such fragments of text that differ from the main block: these can be poems, statements of rules, laws, conclusions, etc. It is quite advisable to format each such fragment using the paragraph indentation created by tabulation.

How to quickly fix errors

If paragraph indentations in the text are already incorrectly formatted, the text is full of unnecessary non-printable characters, they must be eliminated before preparing the text for printing. You can check your text for such errors using the “Show All Characters” tool (Home tab, Paragraph group).

You can eliminate unnecessary characters using the "Replace" tool ("Home" tab, "Editing" group). In the “Find” field, enter two spaces, and in the “Replace” field, enter one space. Click the Replace All button. All double spaces will be replaced with single spaces. Click “Replace All” until the post-replacement report shows “Number of replacements made - 0.”

If the number of spaces before each first line was odd, then you will need to remove the single remaining space. In the "Find" field, insert a paragraph mark ("More" - "Special" - "Paragraph Mark") and a space, and in the "Replace" field - only a paragraph mark. The Replace All command will eliminate spaces after paragraphs.

In a similar way, you can remove tabs and many bizarre combinations of unnecessary characters (for example, sometimes, especially when long work above the text and returning to it multiple times, spaces are duplicated by tabs).

After clearing the file from similar mistakes You can correctly format paragraph indents.

When you type content in new documents, Word applies default formatting to font and paragraphs. You can customize the paragraph formatting as in standard template Normal, which is used to create new documents in most situations, as well as in any other templates and documents created on their basis. We will show you the procedure in both cases.

Changing paragraph formatting in the standard “Normal” template

To change paragraph formatting in the current document and in all documents that will be created from the Normal template, create new file Word or open an existing one.

• If you create a new file, the Normal template styles will be applied to any content you enter.
• If you open an existing document and want to set a different style for a paragraph, place the cursor in the paragraph whose formatting you want to change.

Open the tab Home(Home) and in the lower right corner of the section Paragraph(Paragraph) click button Paragraph options(Paragraph Settings).

In the dialog box Paragraph(Paragraph) select which settings you want to change. Please note that the settings are located on two tabs: Indents and Spacing(Indents and Spacing) and Position on page(Line and Page Breaks). When you're done with the settings, click Default(Set As Default).

A dialog box appears asking whether you want to change the default formatting only for the current document or for all documents based on the Normal template. To have the new formatting settings applied to all documents you create, select All documents based on the Normal template(All documents based on the Normal.dotm template) and click OK.

Paragraphs that have the same style applied as the paragraph you selected will have their formatting changed.

Changing the paragraph formatting to already existing document(and in its original template)

You can quickly change the formatting of all paragraphs that have the same style applied in an existing document. Open the document and on the tab Home(Home) press button Styles(Styles).

The panel of the same name will appear. Find the style you want to change in the list and hover your mouse over it. Click the down arrow and select from the drop-down list Change(Modify).

In the dialog box Changing the style(Modify Style) customize required parameters formatting. To open additional options, press the button Format(Format).

To apply formatting changes to all new documents based on the current template, select the option In new documents using this template(New documents based on this template). This way, the formatting settings will be saved in the current template and will be used the next time you create a document based on this template.

If you are printing a report, writing a coursework or dissertation, or typing any other text in Word, then creating paragraphs is one of the mandatory points that must be followed for the correct formatting of the document. Moreover, paragraphs in Word make text easier to read.

In this article we will look at how make a red line in Word so that your text complies with the design rules that are established for the document.

Make sure your document is opened in "Page Layout". In this case, the corresponding icon will be highlighted at the bottom of the window.

If you have selected a different mode, click on "Page Layout".

A ruler should appear on the left and top of the document. If it is not displayed on the sheet, go to the "View" tab and in the "Show" group, check the "Ruler" box.

Now pay attention to the top line, we will be interested in it. On it you will see one marker on the right side and three markers on the left side. We need the ones on the left.

By moving the bottom marker, you will indent all the text in the paragraph. Middle Marker – will create an indent for text throughout the entire paragraph except the first line. But the top marker is exactly what you need to make a paragraph in Word.

So, in order to make paragraphs in a document, select all the text, press the key combination “Ctrl+A”, and move the top marker to the desired distance on the ruler. The ruler division value is 0.25 cm, so the distance for a paragraph can be set quite accurately.

If you have not yet typed text in a document, then immediately set the marker on the ruler to the required distance. Now when typing, when you finish typing in one paragraph, press “Enter” and move on to the next paragraph, the indent for the first line will appear automatically.

You can add a paragraph in Word in another way. To do this, select all the text, go to the “Home” tab and in the “Paragraph” group, click on the small black arrow in the lower right corner.

The following dialog box will open. In it, on the tab "Indents and Spacing", in the “first line” field, select “Indent” from the drop-down list. Next, in the “to:” field, indicate the required distance for indents. Click OK.

In order to make a continuous paragraph in Word, open the dialog shown above. In it, go to the tab "Page Position" and check the box "don't break the paragraph". Click OK.

Now, if a paragraph is located at the end of the page, Word will either move one line up, placing it on this page, automatically changing the spacing, or move the entire paragraph to the beginning of a new page.

I think now you definitely won’t have any questions about how you can make a paragraph in Word.