Set indent size?
September 13, 2013 7:03 PM Subscribe
How can I change the indent size in Word and OpenOffice? Not the first indent for paragraphs, but for a whole chunk of text. Basically I want to create a bulleted list without the bullets. Bonus question inside.
Bonus question: Are there any good, minimalistic resume templates out there for Word/OpenOffice? I am downloading LaTex because I have found this template.
Bonus question: Are there any good, minimalistic resume templates out there for Word/OpenOffice? I am downloading LaTex because I have found this template.
In Word (I'm on Mac 2011, ymmv), you can set your indent to indent the whole paragraph or selected text. Go to Format > Paragraph and set your desired left indent width. Under the Special menu, choose "(none)" and all lines will indent.
You could do a bulleted list without the bullets in Word if you really wanted... Select the text you want to faux-bullet. Go to Format > Bullets and Numbering. Choose any one of the options (round bullets, checkmarks, whatever) and then click the Customize button. In the Customize dialog, you can choose your bullet position (the width) and you can click the Bullet button to choose the design for the bullet from a bunch of different symbols. Choose the first "symbol," which is just a blank space. Et voilà, bulletless bulleted list.
posted by dayintoday at 7:17 PM on September 13, 2013
You could do a bulleted list without the bullets in Word if you really wanted... Select the text you want to faux-bullet. Go to Format > Bullets and Numbering. Choose any one of the options (round bullets, checkmarks, whatever) and then click the Customize button. In the Customize dialog, you can choose your bullet position (the width) and you can click the Bullet button to choose the design for the bullet from a bunch of different symbols. Choose the first "symbol," which is just a blank space. Et voilà, bulletless bulleted list.
posted by dayintoday at 7:17 PM on September 13, 2013
In OpenOffice/LibreOffice (which I'd recommend over OO, as it has much more active developers), go to Format → Paragraph… → Indents & Spacing → Indent, and choose a value for “Before text”. This will shift the whole paragraph by that much. “After text” is the right-side indent, and “First line” is a relative value for the first line.
Alternatively, there are the Increase/Decrease indent buttons next to the bullet/numbering icons.
A résumé is a really good place to use consistent styles, so in OpenOffice, hit F11 to open the Styles window, then right click on a current style to edit it. This will change all of the text in that style throughout the document, and not have you hunting for a mismatch while proof-reading.
posted by scruss at 7:45 PM on September 13, 2013
Alternatively, there are the Increase/Decrease indent buttons next to the bullet/numbering icons.
A résumé is a really good place to use consistent styles, so in OpenOffice, hit F11 to open the Styles window, then right click on a current style to edit it. This will change all of the text in that style throughout the document, and not have you hunting for a mismatch while proof-reading.
posted by scruss at 7:45 PM on September 13, 2013
Response by poster: I'll download LibreOffice soon... in OpenOffice, I would like to use the Increase/Decrease indent buttons (I don't know how else to do what I want to do anyway). However, each time I use the buttons, the "Before text" value changes back to 0.00.
posted by gray17 at 7:53 PM on September 13, 2013
posted by gray17 at 7:53 PM on September 13, 2013
In Word, I usually: 1) set a left tabulation on the ruler to where I want my text indented to, 2) use TAB to get the first line to that tabulation and 3) use Ctrl-T to indent the rest of the paragraph to that tabulation. Ctrl-Shift-T will move the paragraph's indentation one tabulation back.
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 8:05 PM on September 13, 2013
posted by Monday, stony Monday at 8:05 PM on September 13, 2013
Response by poster: I think I found the solution for Word 2013: View > Ruler, then click Left Indent on Ruler to open Paragraph, then click Tabs at the bottom and set Default Tab Stops.
posted by gray17 at 8:33 PM on September 13, 2013
posted by gray17 at 8:33 PM on September 13, 2013
scruss: "A résumé is a really good place to use consistent styles, so in OpenOffice, hit F11 to open the Styles window, then right click on a current style to edit it. This will change all of the text in that style throughout the document, and not have you hunting for a mismatch while proof-reading."
Even better is to clone the current style and modify the clone. Go into the F11 Styles menu, then click on the style you're currently using. (In case it's not clear, that should be the paragraph style you're currently using. Frame, character, etc. styles aren't very useful here.) Now, go into the top right drop-down menu -- the one with the little paragraph symbol and justified pseudo-text next to it -- and select "New Style from Selection". That will clone your current style. In the Create Style menu, give it a name like "Indented Main Text" or "Bulleted List without Bullets" or "nifty trousers" or whatever strikes your fancy.
Now, in the Styles list (F11 again), right-click your new style's name and hit "Modify". That'll give you access to all that style's properties. Go into Indents & Spacing and change the "Before text" value to something like 0.5". Viola, your text style is now fully indented. You could also
Libre/Open Office defaults to making text stay in the same style unless you tell it otherwise. (You can change that by going into the Organizer tab in the Paragraph Styles menu, then "Next Style", but I don't want to get too far off track.) When you're done with your indented section, manually change the rest of the text to your non-indented style. Put the cursor in the paragraph you want non-indented or mouse select a section of it, then go into the F11 paragraph style menu and double-click the style you want.
I can't not use styles in LibreOffice; it's one of the things I like most about LO/OO. Word's treatment of styles is terrible, seemingly assuming you will never want to use them (and you certainly won't, because MS tries to make Word as hostile to styles as it can). LO/OO are built around the assumption that you're going to use them, so they make styles an integral part of the program. That "Clear Direct Formatting" option on right-click will force a paragraph to revert to the style you've already specified, which is great for getting rid of improperly or sloppily applied formatting in a section of text. So for me, résumés are merely the tip of the iceberg.
posted by jiawen at 2:01 AM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]
Even better is to clone the current style and modify the clone. Go into the F11 Styles menu, then click on the style you're currently using. (In case it's not clear, that should be the paragraph style you're currently using. Frame, character, etc. styles aren't very useful here.) Now, go into the top right drop-down menu -- the one with the little paragraph symbol and justified pseudo-text next to it -- and select "New Style from Selection". That will clone your current style. In the Create Style menu, give it a name like "Indented Main Text" or "Bulleted List without Bullets" or "nifty trousers" or whatever strikes your fancy.
Now, in the Styles list (F11 again), right-click your new style's name and hit "Modify". That'll give you access to all that style's properties. Go into Indents & Spacing and change the "Before text" value to something like 0.5". Viola, your text style is now fully indented. You could also
Libre/Open Office defaults to making text stay in the same style unless you tell it otherwise. (You can change that by going into the Organizer tab in the Paragraph Styles menu, then "Next Style", but I don't want to get too far off track.) When you're done with your indented section, manually change the rest of the text to your non-indented style. Put the cursor in the paragraph you want non-indented or mouse select a section of it, then go into the F11 paragraph style menu and double-click the style you want.
I can't not use styles in LibreOffice; it's one of the things I like most about LO/OO. Word's treatment of styles is terrible, seemingly assuming you will never want to use them (and you certainly won't, because MS tries to make Word as hostile to styles as it can). LO/OO are built around the assumption that you're going to use them, so they make styles an integral part of the program. That "Clear Direct Formatting" option on right-click will force a paragraph to revert to the style you've already specified, which is great for getting rid of improperly or sloppily applied formatting in a section of text. So for me, résumés are merely the tip of the iceberg.
posted by jiawen at 2:01 AM on September 14, 2013 [1 favorite]
And yes, the "increase indent" buttons are purely temporary solutions -- they're designed to work only on a single paragraph, not to keep consistent indenting for text you're still typing in. For consistent formatting, styles are your friend.
posted by jiawen at 2:03 AM on September 14, 2013
posted by jiawen at 2:03 AM on September 14, 2013
And to actually finish my "You could also" sentence, you could also do indenting with styles by creating a literal bulleted list style that has no bullets, putting an invisible border around a paragraph style or other means, but most straightforward is the Indents & Spacing method I mentioned.
posted by jiawen at 9:03 PM on September 14, 2013
posted by jiawen at 9:03 PM on September 14, 2013
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posted by xingcat at 7:16 PM on September 13, 2013