About text alignment and spacing

Microsoft Office Word 2003

Margins determine the overall width of the main text area— in other words, the space between the text and the edge of the page.

Indentation determines the distance of the paragraph from either the left or right margins. Within margins, you can increase or decrease the indentation of a paragraph or group of paragraphs. You can also create a negative indent (also known as an outdent), which pulls the paragraph out toward the left margin. You can also create a hanging indent, in which the first line of the paragraph is not indented, but subsequent lines are.
Paragraph indents and page margins

Callout 1 Page margins

Callout 2 Paragraph indents

Horizontal alignment determines the appearance and orientation of the edges of the paragraph: left-aligned, right-aligned, centered, or justified. For example, in a left-aligned paragraph (the most common alignment), the left edge of the paragraph is flush with the left margin.

Vertical alignment determines the position of the paragraph relative to the top and bottom margins. This is useful, for example, when you’re creating a title page, because you can position text precisely at the top, bottom, or center of the page, or you can vertically justify the paragraphs so that they’re spaced evenly down the page.

ShowExamples of paragraph indentation

Text with a first-line indent
Text with a first-line indent
Text with a hanging indent
Text with a hanging indent
Text with a negative indent
Text with a negative indent

ShowSpacing between lines or paragraphs

Line spacing determines the amount of vertical space between lines of text in a paragraph. By default, lines are single-spaced, meaning that the spacing accommodates the largest font in that line, plus a small amount of extra space.

Paragraph spacing determines the amount of space above or below a paragraph.

If a line contains a large text character, graphic, or formula, Microsoft Word increases the spacing for that line. To space all lines evenly, use exact spacing, and specify an amount of space that is large enough to fit the largest character or graphic in the line. If items appear cut off, increase the amount of spacing.

ShowTypes of line spacing

Single
Accommodates the largest font in that line, plus a small amount of extra space. The amount of extra space varies depending on the font used.
1.5 lines
One-and-one-half times that of single line spacing.
Double
Twice that of single line spacing.
At least
Minimum line spacing that is needed to fit the largest font or graphic on the line.
Exactly
Fixed line spacing that Microsoft Word does not adjust.
Multiple
Line spacing that is increased or decreased by a percentage that you specify. For example, setting line spacing to 1.2 will increase the space by 20 percent.