Paragraph properties

You can edit line spacing, column options, and indentations for paragraphs from the Paragraph Properties panel. You can also use this panel to control how paragraphs interact with page breaks.

Format paragraphs

To open the Paragraph Properties panel:

1

From the File toolbar, click Properties.

2

Select Section Properties from the menu.

3

Select the Paragraph Properties tab at the top of the panel.

You can also access the panel by right-clicking in your document and choosing Paragraph Properties.

From here, you can modify columns, indentation, spacing, and pagination.

Format page breaks

You can control how content flows between page breaks using the Pagination options.

• Keep with next ensures that the selected paragraph and the paragraph immediately after will not be separated by a page break.

• Keep lines together ensures that the selected paragraph will only be split by a hard page break.

• Widow orphan control prevents a single line at the beginning (a widow) or the end (an orphan) of your paragraph from being placed on a separate page.

Use tab stops

Tab stops change how your paragraph is indented. Each document automatically has a First Line Indent tab stop and a Hanging Indent tab stop.

Click and drag the triangle to move the first line indent. To move the First Line Indent in half-inch increments, press Tab on your keyboard. 

Custom tabs stops let you further adjust the paragraph indents. To add a custom tab stop:

1

Place your cursor next to the text that you want to align.

2

Right-click the ruler bar and choose a tab stop. 

3

Use Tab on your keyboard to move the text to that location.

4

Click and drag to reposition the tab stop if needed.

As you move the triangle to the left or right, you'll see a blue line indicating where the text will begin in the document, along with a tooltip of the exact placement on the ruler.

To remove a tab stop, click and drag the triangle down until the tab stop disappears. If you'd like to clear all of your tab stops, right-click the ruler and choose Clear all tab stops.