Word – Best way to align paragraph text with heading text (not heading number)

microsoft wordmicrosoft-word-2010

I want to align all paragraph text with the heading text (not the number) as follows:

paragraph text aligns with heading text

Example:
1.      Heading 1
------->Paragraph text

1.1     Heading 2
------->Paragraph text

1.1.1   Heading 3
------->Paragraph text

1.1.1.1 Heading 4
------->Paragraph text

I created a multilevel list style for headings with a text indent at 1.27 cm so that all heading text are aligned (up to the 4th level). The style following all heading styles is "Normal". I set the paragraph indentation for "Normal" style to 1.27 cm and this achieves what I want as pictured above.

The problem is that when I created a table, the text style inside is also "Normal" and now that text is also indented by 1.27 cm:

table text is also indented by 1.27 cm

Example:
|-----------------------|
|       text|       text|
|-----------------------|

My option is to create a new style (let's call it "Paragraph") that is indented by 1.27 cm, and apply that to all text following the heading and leave the "Normal" style not indented.

I am not sure if that is the best way, because there could be other hidden caveats that I did not account for and other users of my Word template needs to be aware that the style is "Paragraph", not "Normal".

What is the best way to align paragraph text with the heading text?

Thanks in advance,
Pieter

Best Answer

Yes, separate style for indented text is best approach. To help users remember to apply that style, for each of your numbered Heading styles, set the "Style for following paragraph" to be your indented style. That way, when users create a new heading, the paragraph immediately following it will automatically have the right style (which will of course carry forward to following paragraphs as they press Enter).

Related Question