62

Open Word and insert a table (1 x 1 will work just fine).

Right-click in the table and, in the context menu, select "Bullets" and a bullet image from the bullet library.

enter image description here

Type something and press enter.

Type something else, but, instead of clicking enter, right-click and select "Increase Indent"

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Notice something else moves into the proper indentation of a nested bullet:

enter image description here

Outside of a Word table, you would simply press tab to get this behavior, but I want a keyboard shortcut (if available) to do this inside the table.

This is what I've tried:

  • Ctrl + Tab: Just indents the text, not the bullet
  • Ctrl + T: Same as Ctrl + Tab
  • Ctrl + M: Indents the text and the bullet but does not change the bullet style

Can this be done outside the right-click context menu?

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12 Answers 12

Reset to default
122

In at least Word 2010, you can increase/decrease the indent in a bulleted or numbered list using the following keyboard shortcuts:

Windows:Shift+Alt+→/←

Mac: Shift+Ctrl+→/←

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5
  • When combined with @user222101's comment, this is a perfect solution. Enter twice to go up/left a level, and Shift + Alt + -> to go down/right a level.
    – hotshot309
    Aug 13, 2013 at 16:11
  • 6
    On Mac, this is [Shift] + [Ctrl] + arrow.
    – Gijs
    Nov 17, 2015 at 14:45
  • 1
    Works great on Word 2013 (Windows)
    – Freddie Fabregas
    Feb 20, 2017 at 19:46
  • 1
    Work great on Word 2016 too! You make my day!
    – Luke
    Jan 19, 2018 at 3:02
  • TY SO MUCH. Been bugging me for so long. I thought Shfit+ctrl+M was the only method for a very long time.
    – Leo Ufimtsev
    Sep 19, 2023 at 18:28
11

Press Enter twice. It works. The first one creates the next nested line at the current indent, but the second stroke decreases the indent to the previous indent and section heading.

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4
  • 1
    this only works one-way, but is still a good tip. +1
    – ray023
    May 6, 2013 at 13:26
  • 1
    Shift+Tab also works, as well as Control+Shift+Left/Right Arrow [Mac]
    – user222101
    May 7, 2013 at 20:07
  • 1
    @user222101, for me, Shift + Tab moves me to the left one table cell and selects the content of the cell.
    – hotshot309
    Aug 13, 2013 at 16:04
  • This i a very simple (and effective) solution to move up one level when on the second level (or deeper) in a bulleted list, inside a table. It even remembers where you have the margins set for each level, if you customized them (which I always do when bulleting inside a table, to avoid extraneous leading whitespace). Thanks!
    – hotshot309
    Aug 13, 2013 at 16:09
3

For mac word 2011 also see,

  • Cmd+Shift+M to decrease indentation of bullet
  • Control+Shift+M to increase indentation of bullet
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2
  • In Word for Windows, this does not change the style of the bullet to the default for that indent level. See the other answers if you want that.
    – Tom Hale
    Aug 1, 2016 at 4:06
  • These worked for me in Microsoft Word for Mac (version 16.6)
    – davesmiths
    May 5, 2022 at 11:11
1

You can record a macro (using the Developer tab), and assign it to a keyboard shortcut combination. (Using the Macro Recorder is the easiest way to set this up, but you could also just insert the command Selection.Range.ListFormat.ListIndent in the macro VBA.

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1

Alt+Shift right arrow/left arrow works for me inside a table!

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1
  • worked inside table for word 2016
    – Levi Baguley
    Apr 3, 2021 at 0:00
1

For Word 2011 for Mac the combination that works is:

control + shift + Left/Right Arrow

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0

You might also try Alt+Right Arrow. It's bound to function IncreaseIndent in Word 2010.

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4
  • 1
    did you try this before you suggested it?
    – kmote
    Aug 10, 2012 at 19:15
  • Absolutely. And it works for me.
    – Fran
    Aug 10, 2012 at 19:18
  • UPDATE: The Alt+RightArrow works for me in a table, but TAB doesn't. Thought I had tried it in a table before. I've editted my answer accordingly.
    – Fran
    Aug 10, 2012 at 19:21
  • 3
    neither method works for me (also running Word 2010 on Win7).
    – kmote
    Aug 10, 2012 at 19:24
0

I have found a solution for increasing indent and decreasing indent shortcuts for Microsoft Word 2019. Look below,

Increase Indent: Ctrl+M
Decrease Indent: Ctrl+Shift+M

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-1

option + command + arrow left/right

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1
  • While not stated, the context of the question makes it clear this question is about Windows, while your answer is about Apple.
    – music2myear
    Sep 13, 2017 at 18:51
-1

Increase indent.. TAB Decrease indent.. SHIFT + TAB

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2
  • 1
    Welcome to superuser: While this may or may not answer the question,(an answer has been accepted) it would be a better answer if you could provide some explanation why your solution works with detail and an easy to follow instructions. If you feel your answer is correct do these things and re-edit. Please take a couple of minutes and read:- superuser.com/help .Answering: superuser.com/help/how-to-answer, again welcome to superuser.Thankyou
    – mic84
    Feb 2, 2018 at 10:22
  • Did you notice that the question says ‘‘in a table cell’’?  Have you tried this in a table cell?
    – G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica'
    Feb 2, 2018 at 22:40
-1

Easiest way to solve the issue was creating a new keyboard shortcut for the IncreaseIndent and DecreaseIndent.

Go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon > Keyboard Shortcuts "Customize". From there, Look under Categories: All Commands > IncreaseIndent. Lastly, under Press new shortcut key: (add your command).

I chose Ctrl + , for DecreaseIndent Ctrl + . for IncreaseIndent.

These commands are unused, and are in relative correlation with the keyboard shortcut used for increase indent outside of a text box - Ctrl + M.

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-2

shift + tab is the shortcut to decrease the bullet point level

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1
  • 2
    Nope, doesn't work inside a table, which is the context in which the question is being asked.
    – I say Reinstate Monica
    Nov 26, 2018 at 1:08

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