Tab produces double indentation

Question

This is exhausting. Let me try and be as clear as I can in describing this issue because its a nightmare. I write fantasy novels, and I am 3 books deep and still have no idea how to fix this tab issue.

In my paragraph style options all my indentations are set to 0, yet my tab is still .5 inches from margin. When I try to readjust tab settings to .25 (desired setting) it moves the entire margin over. When I try to adjust the First Line Indentation it moves the entire margin over. I went into bullet options and click on the double arrow symbol and that indentation setting seemed to actually work on my First Line Indentations but I cant save the change.

The most basic question really is why when I press tab it repeats or is .5', and why is it so so so hard to change? And is there a way to save my bullet option tab dimension?

Thank you for help, ahead of time. I cant wait to get back to actually writing and not have to worry about this.

Barb Binder · Accepted Answer

Hi @guy_6737:

The last time we needed to press Tab to indent the first line on a paragraph was on a typewriter. I still remember the thrill of not having to press the spacebar five times on an IBM Selectric typewriter. It seemed like such a leap forward.

In modern applications (i.e., Word, InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop), we never need to add a tab to indent the first line. As others before me have said, we just set a first line indent. Because we know you are exhausted, here's a visual for you.

Note that I took it one more logical step forward, and saved the formatting as a paragraph style. Once the style is created, if you decide you want to increase/decrease the first line indent (or anything else about the paragraph formatting) you edit the style definition and InDesign does the rest for you.

We still use tabs from time to time, but between first line indents and tables, the times are getting further and further apart.

~Barb

Scott Falkner · Answer

If you want a first line indent then just set the first line indent value, don’t press tab. I’m not sure this answers your question because I don’t fully understand it. Save this a a paragraph style so you can quickly apply it and make global changes.

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