Microsoft Word paragraph formatting is the changes that will effects
the entire paragraph in a document. What is the thing that you can change?
The format of a paragraph can be changed by setting tabs, indenting,
aligning, changing line spacing between and within a paragraph, etc. All these
features allow you to enhance the appearance of your document.
Follow the step-by-step guides below:
To apply the paragraph formatting
Select the paragraph you want to apply the format.
From the Format menu, click Paragraph.
From the Paragraph dialog box displayed, do the appropriate changes
and click the OK button.
To align text
Select the text you wish to align (Recommended whole paragraph).
In the General section Alignment menu, select one of the option:
Align Left (Ctrl+L)
Aligns text flush with the left margin. This is the default setting.
Center (Ctrl+E)
Centers text between the left and right margins.
Align Right (Ctrl+R)
Aligns text flush with the right margin.
Justify (Ctrl+J)
Spreads text evenly between the left and right margins by expanding
or reducing the space between individual words.
Distributed (Ctrl+Shift+J)
Distributes text between the left and right margins. This is clear
if your text is short (less than a line).
Paragraph Formatting - Indentation
Indentation determines
the amount of horizontal space of the paragraph i.e. from where the starting
typing point of a paragraph.
To indent a paragraph
Select the paragraph you wish to indent or place the insertion point in the
paragraph you wish to indent.
From the Format menu, click Paragraph.
From the Paragraph dialog box, select the Indents and Spacing
tab (if not ready displayed).
In the Indentation section, you can choose from the following
options:
Left
Aligns the paragraph to the left-hand margin when you enter a
positive number. Entering a negative number will align a paragraph to
the left of the left-hand margin.
Right
Aligns the paragraph to the right-hand margin when you enter a
positive number. Entering a negative number will align a paragraph to
the right of the right-hand margin.
Special
Determines whether the indent is to be a First line or Hanging
indent.
First Line
To indent the first line of the paragraph only.
Hanging
To create a Hanging indent.
None
No indentation.
By
To determines the distance of the indent from the margins, in tenths
of an inch. To increase or decrease of the value, use the up and down
arrows.
Paragraph Formatting - Line spacing
Line spacing
determines the amount of vertical space between lines of text. The line spacing
you select will affect all lines of text in the selected paragraph or in the
paragraph that contains the insertion point.
To adjust line spacing
Place the insertion point where you want to enter new text with new line
spacing, or select the text you wish to modify the line spacing.
From the Format menu, click Paragraph.
From the Paragraph dialog box, the following options available:
Before
Adjusts the line spacing above selected lines, in point size.
After
Adjusts the line spacing below selected lines, in point size.
Line Spacing
The line spacing is automatically specified according to the tallest
character on each line. The options for default line spacing include
Single, 1.5 lines, Double, At least (current point size), Exactly, and
Multiple lines
Single
The default setting. Specifies single spacing, does not add any
additional space between lines.
1.5 Lines
Specifies one and a half line spacing, and adds half a line of
additional spaces between lines.
Double
Specifies double spacing, and adds a single line of additional
spaces between lines.
At least
Specifies the minimum amount of space between lines. MS Word for
Windows will add any additional space required.
Exactly
Specifies a fixed amount of space between lines. MS Word for Windows
will not add any additional space, even if it is required.
Multiple
Setting the line spacing to a multiple of 1.2 is equivalent to 20%
and to a multiple of 0.8 is equivalent to -20%. Setting the line spacing
at a multiple of 2 is equivalent to setting the line spacing at Double.
In the At box, type or select the line spacing you want. The default is
three lines.
Note: Proper adjust the paragraph formatting will have a big effect on
the overall look of the entire paragraph and document itself.
