What is Indent?
Indent means how far you want to move the paragraph away from the left or from the right margin in a document such as MS Word. Generally, Professional material contains no indent, but some follow.
According to Wikipedia “Professionally printed material typically does not indent the first paragraph, but indents those that follow.”
Types of indents in a document such as MS Word
Indents are two types. 1. Left Indent, 2. Right Indent. These are explained underneath the screenshot below

Increase or Decrease the Left Indention in a Document:
How far you want to move the paragraph away from the left margin is called Increase Left intention.
After Increasing the left indention, removing the space between the paragraph and left margin is called Decrease Left Indention.
How to Add or Remove the Left Indention in a Document:
- Select the paragraph that you want to add or remove the left indention
- Click and hold down the left indent on the ruler in a document such as MS Word
- Move right to increase the left indention
- To decrease the left indention, move it to the left.

Keyboard Shortcuts:
- Press the “Tab” Increase the Left Indention
- Press the “Shift + Tab” remove the Left Indention
Add or Remove the Right Indention in a Document:
How far you want to move the paragraph away from the right margin is called Increase Right Indention.
After Increasing the Right Indention, removing the space between the paragraph and right margin is called Decrease Right Indention.
How to Add or Remove the Right Indention:
- Select the paragraph that you want to add or remove the right indention
- Click and hold down the right indent on the ruler in a document such as MS Word
- Move left to increase the right indention
- To remove the right indention, move it to the right.

How to Indent a Paragraph in MS Word

- Go to the Layout tab
- Type/keep some text, then select the paragraph/s you want
- Then choose Left or Right Indent Option by clicking the arrows or type the exact numeric value to set the Left or Right Indents.
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FAQ:
What does it mean to indent a paragraph?
Indention means how far you want to move the paragraph away from the left or from the right margin. Generally, Professional material contains no indention, but some follow. According to Wikipedia “Professionally printed material typically does not indent the first paragraph, but indents those that follow.”