How to Use Rulers in Microsoft Word

The rulers in Microsoft Word allow you to precisely control the layout and formatting of your document. They can be used to adjust margins, indents, tab stops, and more.

Displaying the Rulers

The first step to using rulers is making sure they are visible. To display rulers in Word:

1. Go to the View tab
2. Make sure you are in Print Layout view
3. Check the box next to Ruler in the Show group

This will display a horizontal ruler at the top and a vertical ruler on the left side of the document.

Adjusting Margins

One of the most common uses of rulers is to adjust page margins. To change margins using the ruler:

1. Hover over the boundary between the gray page area and white document area on the ruler
2. Click and drag the margin marker to the desired position

For example, to set a 1.5 inch left margin, drag the left margin marker to the 1.5 inch mark on the ruler.

Tip: Double-click directly on the margin marker to open the Page Setup dialog and enter an exact margin size.

Indenting First Lines

To create a first-line indent using the ruler:

1. Select the paragraph(s) you want to indent
2. On the horizontal ruler, drag the Left Indent marker to the desired position

For example, to indent the first line by 0.5 inches, drag the Left Indent marker to the 0.5 inch mark. This will indent just the first line while keeping subsequent lines at the margin.

Tip: Pay attention to the vertical ruler when adjusting first-line indents. The First Line Indent marker on the vertical ruler will move in sync with the Left Indent marker.

Creating Hanging Indents

To create hanging indents with the ruler:

1. Select the paragraph(s) to adjust
2. On the horizontal ruler, drag the Hanging Indent marker to the desired position

This will indent all lines of the paragraph except the first line. For example, to create a 0.5 inch hanging indent, drag the Hanging Indent marker to the 0.5 inch mark on the ruler.

Tip: As with first-line indents, the Hanging Indent marker on the vertical ruler will also move when adjusting hanging indents horizontally.

Adding Custom Tab Stops

You can use the rulers to add custom tab stops and precisely control tabbed text alignment:

1. Select the Tab Stop Type on the far left of the horizontal ruler
2. Click on the ruler where you want the tab stop
3. Type your text, press Tab to align text to the tab stop

For example, click the Left Tab Stop, then click on the 3 inch mark to set a left-aligned tab stop. When you press Tab, text will align to the left at the 3 inch position.

Tip: To remove a tab stop, simply drag it off the ruler.

Viewing Hidden Formatting

The rulers can display formatting that isn’t visible in your document text. To view hidden formatting:

1. Click the Home tab
2. Check the box for Show/Hide in the Paragraph group

This will show non-printing formatting marks such as paragraph marks, tabs, and spaces. With this enabled, you can see exactly how indentation, tabs, and alignment are set up in the document.

Changing the Ruler Units

By default, rulers display inches. To use different units:

1. Right-click the horizontal ruler
2. Hover over Measurements on the context menu
3. Select the desired unit

Options include inches, centimeters, points, picas, and more. Changing the ruler units allows you to more easily adjust margins and indents to specific measurements.

Enabling the Vertical Ruler

If your vertical ruler is missing:

1. Go to File > Options > Advanced
2. In the Show section, check the box for Vertical ruler
3. Click OK

This will make the vertical ruler visible so you can see indent markers and position tabs vertically.

Ruler Limitations in Word Online

The web-based Word Online supports viewing rulers in documents, but does not allow interacting with or adjusting rulers. To fully utilize rulers for setting margins, indents, and tabs, use the desktop version of Microsoft Word.

Common Ruler Adjustments

Here are some of the most common layout and formatting tasks you can achieve with rulers in Word:

• Set custom page margins
• Indent first lines of paragraphs
• Create hanging indents for bibliographies
• Add space between paragraphs
• Define custom tab stops and leaders
• Align table columns and text
• Control text wrapping around images
• Change measurement units

Ruler Tips and Tricks

• Double-click directly on a ruler marker instead of dragging to enter exact sizes in a dialog box
• Hold Shift while dragging markers to adjust them in fine increments
• Use margin markers on vertical ruler to control spacing in headers/footers
• Combine indents and tabs to align text in custom positions
• Pay attention to Show/Hide formatting marks when adjusting tabs and indents

Why Rulers Matter

Consistently formatting documents requires precision. With rulers, you can define exact positioning and alignment of text down to a fraction of an inch. Rulers help you match layouts across documents, ensure consistency in research papers, properly format academic works, and achieve a professional style.

While you can use menus, dialog boxes, or keyboard shortcuts to adjust some document properties, rulers provide visual guides right on the page and support more advanced layout settings. Taking the time to learn rulers will give you greater control over documents in Word.

When to Use Rulers

Rulers are useful whenever you need to precisely control text positioning and visual layout. Common use cases include:

• Academic papers (APA, MLA, Chicago style formatting)
• Legal documents
• Business reports
• Newsletters
• Magazines
• Textbooks
• Multi-column layouts
• Formatting tables and charts
• Matching layouts across documents

Alternatives to Rulers

If you prefer not to use rulers, Word provides other ways to manage document layout and formatting:

• Page Setup dialog: Adjust margins, paper size, orientation
• Paragraph dialog: Set indents and spacing
• Tabs dialog: Define custom tab stops
• Keyboard shortcuts: Change indentation, alignment, etc
• Styles: Store reusable formatting settings

However, rulers provide more visible guides directly on the page and support more advanced layout options. So mastering rulers is recommended to gain full control over Word documents.

Conclusion

Microsoft Word’s horizontal and vertical rulers allow you to precisely control text formatting and page layout. They act as visual guides right on your document for adjusting margins, indents, tabs, spacing, and more. Mastering rulers provides greater precision and consistency in your Word documents.

So if you aren’t already using rulers in Word, display them on your documents and start harnessing their formatting power! With a little practice, you’ll find them indispensable for controlling text alignment.