Tweak Bulleted Paragraphs With Left Indent Marker in PowerPoint 2010

You have already explored how you can use the First Line Indent Marker and the Hanging Indent Marker to tweak bulleted paragraphs in PowerPoint 2010. The next and last of these indent markers on the Ruler is the Left Indent Marker, shown highlighted in red within Figure 1, below -- this acts like a lock on the First Line Indent Marker and the Hanging Indent Marker. Funnily enough, it is called the Left Indent Marker even though it is placed at right-most of the three markers! Follow these steps to learn more:

1. Select the bulleted paragraph(s) for which you want to tweak the positions. In Figure 1, you can see tht all of the 3rd level bulleted paragraphs are selected (we have used 3rd level bullets in this example because they provide enough space towards both the left and right sides of the selected paragraphs).
   
   
   Figure 1: Bulleted paragraphs selected in PowerPoint 2010
   
   
   Note: If you want to change the position of a particular bulleted paragraph, select only that individual bulleted paragraph. If you want the change to effect all bulleted paragraphs in the placeholder (or text box), select all the paragraphs.
   
   
2. With your selection still active, you can reposition the bulleted paragraphs in any of the following ways:
   
   
   1. With your selection active, if you want to increase the indent of the bullets, click on the Left Indent Marker and drag it rightwards along the Horizontal Ruler as shown in Figure 2. It is quite possible that you select the Hanging Indent Marker by mistake that sits above the Left Indent Marker, -- make sure that you click and drag the latter. As you can see, the First Line Indent Marker (Top Caret) also moves as you move the Left Indent Marker.
      
      
      Figure 2: Left Indent Marker being dragged towards right
      
      
      Note: Pressing the Ctrl key while you drag the Indent Markers will give you more control over the placement.
      
      Stop dragging when you are in the new position where you want to place the selected paragraphs. In Figure 3 you can see the selected bullet paragraphs moved rightwards. Compare Figures 2 and 3 to see the increased indented space.
      
      
      Figure 3: Selected bulleted paragraphs repositioned rightwards
      
      
   2. You can also drag the Left Indent Marker leftwards, as shown in Figure 4.
      
      
      Figure 4: Left Indent Marker being dragged beyond The First Line Indent Marker

In Figure 5 you can see that the selected bulleted paragraphs have been moved leftwards beyond their initial position (compare Figures 1 and 5). Note that wherever you move the Left Indent Marker, the space between the first-line indent marker and the Hanging Indent Marker will be constant.


Figure 5: Selected bulleted paragraphs repositioned to new indent leftwards

See Also:

Tweak Bulleted Paragraphs With Left Indent Marker in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
Tweak Bullets With Left Indent Marker in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac