How do I set indentation for outlines

I am going nuts trying to set outline parameters in Word. In the sample below, the indents are way too large. Each new indent's number/letter should be .25 or .5 inches, ie, directly below the text above. Unfortunately, there is no consistency.

Word *sometimes* does that, then other times does what you see in the example below, making the indents anywhere from twice what they should be to sometimes 1.38" larger (where does that number come from?).

What I want is a standard, consistent indentation of .25" (or .5") for each indentation. What am I doing wrong?

This gets way worse, by the way, if I try to set the 1. Test level to a particular style.

In the old days, Word did exactly what I wanted, in fact it was the default. Now, everything seems to be arbitrary and I can't figure out the rule.

Thanks for any help.

EdB

Image

You have to use the multilevel list dialog box to set indents in a multilevel list. You can click in the first level 1 item of your list and then click Home tab > Multilevel List > Define New Multilevel List.

For more stable lists, and more easily re-usable lists, set up the numbering in the multilevel list dialog box and make sure that you associate each level with a paragraph style. See https://shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/numbering20072010.html.

Stefan Blom
MS 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
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Last updated April 13, 2025 Views 872 Applies to: