I just felt a compelling reason to document one of those moments where a seemingly-simple problem took longer to resolve than it should have. I was cleaning up a simple multi-level outline (', ) in 2003. (Let's not get into any debate about using Word or!) While it may be a bad habit, I'm accustomed to using Tab/Shift+Tab to increase/decrease the outline level/indentation.

In school papers, block indents signify long quotes from other sources; in professional documents, block indents can signify quotes, excerpts or essential information. Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 offer multiple ways to create a block indent in your document. Sep 22, 2011 - To remove a tab, drag the marker off the ruler. To indent just the first line of text or both the left and right edges, drag the indent markers shown.

(Same as the default keyboard shortcuts in and many other editors.) This particular time, the only result was actual tabs being inserted between the bullet and the text. Nothing under Tools Options, nothing with, and nothing within the defined keyboard shortcuts. Word's AutoCorrect is the owner of this round of frustration.

The steps to correct this vary a bit depending upon the version of Word being used: • Word 2013 (15) or Word 2010 (14): • Click the 'File' tab, then 'Options' from the left-hand navigation. • Click 'Proofing' from the left-hand navigation in the new window. • Click the 'AutoCorrect Options.' Button from the right-hand panel. • Click the 'AutoFormat As You Type' tab. • Under 'Automatically as you type' at the bottom, check 'Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces.' • Word 2007 (12): • Click the 'Office' button (very top-left of Window), then Word Options.

• Click 'Proofing' from the left-hand navigation. • Click the 'AutoCorrect Options.' Button from the right-hand panel.

• Click the 'AutoFormat As You Type' tab. • Under 'Automatically as you type' at the bottom, check 'Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces.' • Word 2003 (11) or 2002 (XP/10): • Tools AutoCorrect Options AutoFormat As You Type. • Near the bottom under 'Automatically as you type' is an option 'Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces.' • Word 2000 (9) or 97 (8): • Tools Options Edit 'Tabs and backspace set left indent.'

Other options are to use Alt+Shift+Arrow, where Arrow is the left or right arrow key, or to display and use the 'Outlining' toolbar. While I'm thinking about Word, I've got a few other frustrations/tips to share: • Default margins: I don't know why Word defaults to 1 ¼' (1.25') left/right margins, but 1' seems much more practical. • Collapsible menus: This is changed by the ' (a.k.a. ) in Office 2007, but in earlier versions, I like to see all my options. See Tools Customize Options, 'Always show full menus'. While you're here, I'd also check 'Show Standard and Formatting toolbars on two rows'. • The 'drawing canvas' - turn off under Tools Options, 'Automatically create drawing canvas when inserting AutoShapes'.

• The ', most often seen when opening Word attachments from Outlook. Word for mac - view - reveal formatting. Turn off under Tools Options, 'Allow starting in Reading Layout'.

• If Microsoft is pushing their so hard, why not use it to replace within Office? (The closest option at the moment is the (VSTO).).

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! I have been struggling with this for MONTHS!!!!

You can indent the first line of text in a paragraph to create a visual break in the document that helps readers scan paragraphs. • one or more paragraphs, or press to select all paragraphs in the document.