How to Change the Default Indentation in Outlook

Microsoft Outlook enables you to customize the indentation with the Paragraph options on the Format Text tab. You can update the default indentation on the body of your messages, appointments, meetings and tasks to change your content’s format. Options include increasing and decreasing the indent in fractions of an inch for the left or right indent for a new saved style in your email communications.

The Paragraph group on a new message window, for example, includes the tiny arrow button in the lower right corner. Clicking this Dialog Box Launcher button opens the Paragraph window with two sheet tabs: "Indents and Spacing" and "Line and Page Breaks." The Indents and Spacing sheet includes the Indentation section with fields for "Left" and "Right" indents. Insert a new value or click the arrow buttons to increase and decrease the values in fractions of an inch. The Preview box shows the new indentation and effect on the sample text.

The Indentation section also includes the Special field with three options: "None," to indent the whole block; "First Line," to indent the first line of a new paragraph; and "Hanging" to indent the second and following lines for a hanging paragraph. The "By" field includes adjustable values listed in inches. Outlook enables you to save your new indented text format for the current document or to set as the new default for the document template.