First Line Indent and Tab Stops

The difference between a first-line indent and a tab is a first-line indent indents the first line of every paragraph. A tab, on the other hand, can be set in multiple places and gives you more control over the placement of text. There are also different types of tab stops: left, right, center, decimal, and bar.

FIRST-LINE INDENT

To set a First-Line Indent go to Home, Paragraph group, Dialog box launcher (arrow in right corner of group), Indents & Spacing tab, Indention heading, under the Special heading, click the down-arrow, and select First Line, then select OK. The default spacing is 0.5 inches, but it can be adjusted according to your preferences.

Another way to set a first-line indent is to click and drag the First-Line Indent marker (triangle at the top of the ruler on the left, shown in the diagram on the left) to the position where you want the first-line indent. Now, every time you begin a new paragraph Word will automatically indent the first line.

TAB STOPS

Tab stops can be set by going to the Home tab, Paragraph group, then click the Tabs button at the bottom. This will open the Tabs dialog box, shown below. Here you can add Tab stop positions and change the Alignment.

Tab stops can also be set on the ruler. First, select the text where you would like to set a tab. Then, go to the Tab Selector on the left side of the ruler and click until the Tab Alignment you wish to use is displayed. Below is a diagram showing the different Tab Alignments. Now, click the position for your tab on the Ruler.

1. Left tab: aligns text to the right of tab stop.
2. Center tab: aligns text at center of the tab stop.
3. Right tab: aligns text to the left of the tab stop.
4. Decimal tab: aligns text at
   the decimal point.
5. Bar tab: creates
   a vertical line
   on the page.