How is a Tab Different from a First-Line Indent

Indents are used for different things in Word. Some indents are set by the user to make the text align in a particular way, and some indents are set automatically as part of a Word function. For example, Word uses indents to perform the Bullet and Number functions.

To set an indent the user would adjust the settings in the Paragraph dialog box on the Indents and Spacing tab.

From here a user can set Special indents like a First-line or Hanging indent. Hanging indents are often used in Bibliographies and Works Cited pages for reports. A Hanging indent allows the first line of text to "hang" over to the left of the subsequent lines of text in a paragraph, and by pressing ENTER the user will begin a new paragraph with the first line hanging.

First-line indents are used to notify the reader that a new paragraph is beginning. If a user sets a first-line indent in Word, then every time the user presses ENTER to begin a new paragraph the first line will automatically indent .

Like indents, tabs are used to align text in a particular way, but the user must press the TAB key to use a tab. If the user presses TAB to indent the first line of a paragraph Word automatically adds a first-line indent to the ruler, with the auto correct options box available to change the indent back to a tab.

Tabs can also be adjusted to the users specifications by using the Paragraph dialog box, and clicking the TABS button in the bottom, left side of the box.