Today we are going to show you how to show or hide the ruler in Word. The ruler is a very useful tool, it gives you the ability to precisely control dimensions and margins. After reading our guide you will become a master at formatting your Word documents.
How to show or hide the ruler in Word?
Showing the ruler in Microsoft Word is a matter of seconds. First, click on the View tab, here you will find the checkbox to activate the Ruler, under Show. You may need to maximize the Word window for this section to appear. The ruler will be displayed instantly. If you want to hide it, simply uncheck the box.
How to change the ruler measurement unit in Word?
By default, Word shows you the ruler in inches. If you want to change it, click on the File menu and then click on Options, the last section at the bottom.
Then, you must go to the Advanced section. There, you will be shown a fairly long list of options. You should scroll down to about the middle, where you will find the Show section. Here you will find the option Show measurements in units of, where you can choose between inches, centimeters, millimeters, points, etc.
How does the ruler work in Word?
The Word ruler shows the size of the document in relation to the size of the page, but probably its most useful feature is to make various adjustments to the formatting of paragraphs by sliding different controls. These are the available options:
- Left Indent: With this slider, you can adjust the left indent of the paragraph or paragraphs that are selected. When you slide this slider, the other sliders will also move.
- French indent: With this slider, you can adjust the French indent of the selected paragraph(s). The French indent keeps the first line intact and shifts the following lines.
- First-line indent: This shifts the first line of text, but keeps the rest of the lines the same.
- Right Indent: With this slider, you can adjust the right indent of the paragraph or text fragment you have selected.
The easiest way to know the difference between these tools is to select the text you want to change and move the sliders to see how the design changes.
