PowerPoint 2007

Indentation

In PowerPoint, you can adjust the space between a bullet in a list and the text. The ability to increase and decrease the indentation gives you control over the lists you use in a presentation, and it allows you to customize them to meet your needs. One of the easiest ways to modify the indentation is by using the indent markers on the ruler.

To display the ruler:

• Select the View tab.
• Click the Ruler check box in the Show/Hide group if it is not selected. The ruler will appear.

To change the position of a bullet or bullets:

• Place the cursor on the line with the bullet you want to move. For multiple lines, select the lines of text.
• Click and drag the first-line indent marker to change the position of the bullet.
  • The first-line indent marker looks like an upside-down triangle. It indicates the position of the actual bullet.

• Release the mouse button at the desired location.

To change the position of text:

• Place the cursor on the line of text you want to move. For multiple lines, select the lines of text.
• Click and drag the hanging indent marker to change the position of the text.
  • The hanging indent marker looks like a triangle. It indicates the position of the line of text.

• Release the mouse button at the desired location.

To change the position of both bullet and text (while maintaining the spacing):

• Place the cursor on the line of text you want to move. For multiple lines, select the lines of text.
• Click and drag the left indent marker to change the position of the bullet and text while maintaining the current spacing.
  • The left indent marker is the rectangle beneath the hanging indent marker.

• Release the mouse at the desired location. Both the bullet and text will move but maintain their current proportions.

If you are working with non-bulleted text, such as in a paragraph, you can still use these markers to indent the text. Each marker works the same way but moves slightly different parts of the text.

More about indentation

While the ruler is a simple way to modify indentation, you can enter a specific amount to indent using the Paragraph dialog box. To view this dialog box, just click the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

In the Paragraph dialog box, you can enter specific measurements for the indents before the text, or special hanging and first-line indents.