How to Use a Hanging Indention in MS Word

Using the Paragraph Dialog Box
1. Click the 'Home' tab. In the 'Paragraph' section, click the arrow in the bottom right corner. This opens the Paragraph dialog box.
2. Click the 'Indents and Spacing' tab in the Paragraph dialog box. Under the heading 'Indentation,' click the button under 'Special.' (Usually, 'none' is automatically selcted under 'Special.') From the drop-down menu, select 'Hanging' instead of 'none.'
3. Determine how far from the left margin your hanging indent will begin. In the field labeled 'By,' directly to the right of the 'Special' field, choose a number by typing in the field or using the arrows on the right. This field automatically sets to 1/2 inch, or 0.5, which is standard for hanging indents.
4. Click 'OK' at the bottom of the Paragraph dialog box.
Using the Arrows on the Horizontal Ruler
5. Click the bottom arrow--the one pointing upwards--on the left side of the horizontal ruler. The ruler appears above the text of the document but below the ribbon that contains tabs, groups and buttons. (If you can't see the ruler, then click the button immediately above the scrolling bar on the right side of the page; when you hover your cursor over this button, it says 'View Ruler.')
6. Drag the arrow toward the right.
7. Drop the arrow wherever you want the hanging indentation to begin. Most commonly, the hanging indent starts 1/2 inch from the left margin, halfway between the arrow's starting position and the '1.' A longer vertical line in the ruler, and a smaller vertical line immediately below the ruler, mark this halfway point.