Indents and Line Spacing in PowerPoint

Creating clean, organized slides helps your audience understand your message faster. Two simple tools to improve your text layout are indents and line spacing. Here’s a clear guide to using both in PowerPoint.

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What Are Indents and Line Spacing?

• Indents: Move your text inward from the left margin. They help structure lists or set paragraphs apart.
• Line spacing: Controls how much space appears between each line of text. It can improve readability or help you fit more content.

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How to Indent Text in PowerPoint

1. Use the Tab Key

• Place your cursor at the beginning of a line.
• Press Tab to increase the indent.
  
• To decrease, press Shift + Tab.

2. Use the Indent Buttons

• Click the line you want to indent.
• Go to the Home tab.
  
• Click Increase List Level to indent.
• Click Decrease List Level to reverse it.

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Indenting Lists vs. Paragraphs

• Paragraphs: Pressing Tab at the start creates a first-line indent. This separates one paragraph from the next.
• Lists: Pressing Tab turns a bullet point into a sub-point. This builds a multilevel list, useful for showing subtopics.
  

You can also customize bullet styles to highlight different levels of your list.

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Fine-Tuning Indents with the Ruler

Want more control? Use the Ruler.

Show the Ruler:

• Go to the View tab.
• Check the Ruler box.

Use Indent Markers:

• First-line indent marker: Adjusts only the first line.
• Hanging indent marker: Adjusts all lines except the first.
• Left indent marker: Moves the whole paragraph in or out.

To use:

• Click anywhere in the paragraph.
• Drag the marker left or right as needed.

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Adjust Bullet Spacing

• Select the list items.
• Drag the hanging indent marker on the ruler to adjust space between bullet and text.

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How to Adjust Line Spacing

Line spacing affects how tight or loose your text looks. Here's how to change it:

1. Select your text.
2. Go to the Home tab.
3. In the Paragraph group, click Line Spacing.
4. Pick a spacing option like 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0.

For more control:

• Click Line Spacing Options from the drop-down.
• Use the Paragraph dialog box to change:
  • Line spacing (between lines)
  • Paragraph spacing (before/after paragraphs)

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Quick Tips

• Don’t overuse line spacing—too much makes the text tiny.
• Use indents sparingly to keep slides clean.
• Stick to one or two bullet levels for clarity.

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FAQs