In PowerPoint, pressing the Tab key at the beginning of a bulleted (or numbered) item will go to the next level in the multilevel list. It is the same as using the Increase Indent command on the Home tab.
powerpoint text in slide does not let me use indentation for bullet points
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(60.8, 27%, 15%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3ENA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Neerja Ahuja
20
Reputation points
I am working on my ppt slides. in the text i am writing bullet points. For one of them i need to add sub-points and want to indent to write these but the indentation is grey and i can't move the text. I have used tabs for now but that is not final solution. I have done this indentation in past and not sure what is going on now. Any tips? thanks
Microsoft 365 and Office | PowerPoint | For business | Windows
Accepted answer
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Stefan Blom 310.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator2025-08-15T08:23:59.49+00:00 -
Neerja Ahuja 20 Reputation points
2025-08-15T12:55:00.83+00:00 thanks! somehow that is not working. but thanks for your help
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Stefan Blom 310.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2025-08-15T12:59:43.0266667+00:00 thanks! somehow that is not working. but thanks for your help
In what way is it not working? Do you see an error message?
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![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(108.80000000000001, 6%, 20%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3ESR%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Steve Rindsberg 99,031 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator2025-08-15T18:05:07.3166667+00:00 Stefan, your suggestion works for text that's in a text or content placeholder. Text in regular shapes or text boxes behaves differently (some might say badly or at least unexpectedly).
In the latter case, you have to using the Increase/Decrease Indent buttons in the Paragraph group of the Home tab:
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Stefan Blom 310.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2025-08-15T19:44:48.52+00:00 Steve, thanks for the clarification.
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![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(278.4, 99%, 36%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EAH%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Allison-H 1,100 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator2025-08-15T09:32:28.87+00:00 Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum
I understand how frustrating it can be when you’re having trouble indenting sub-points in your PowerPoint bullet points.
To better understand your situation, could you please confirm:
-What type of account are you using? (Personal, Business, or Education)
-Does the issue occur in a specific file or across all files? Could you create a new PowerPoint presentation and test if the problem persists?
-If possible, could you share a screenshot of the issue to help me get a clearer picture?
Based on your description, I suggest:
1.Make sure your PowerPoint is the latest version
-Open PowerPoint, go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now to ensure you have the latest version.
2.Enable Automatic bulleted and numbered lists
-Go to File > Options.
-Click “Proofing” on the left menu, then click the “AutoCorrect Options” button.
-Click the “AutoFormat As You Type” tab.
-Ensure “Automatic bulleted and numbered lists” is selected.
-Click OK and test
3.Check Slide Layout:
-Go to the Home tab and click Slide Layout, try switching to a default Placeholder from the slide layout.
4.Run PowerPoint in Safe Mode:
-Press Windows + R, type powerpnt /safe, and press Enter.
-Test the indent options in Safe Mode.
5.Run a Quick Repair:
-Close all Office applications.
-Open Control Panel
-Go to Programs > Programs and Features.
-Find Microsoft Office, right-click, and select Change.
-Choose Quick Repair and click Repair.
6.Delete and Re-Add a Text Box
In the meantime, you can also use Ruler for Indentation in PowerPoint as a workaround
-Go to View > Check Ruler to display it.
-On the Ruler, drag:
Rectangle (Left Indent) right to indent entire line for sub-points
Top triangle (First Line Indent) to adjust bullet position
Bottom triangle (Hanging Indent) to align text after the bullet.
-Drag left to reduce indentation.
The initial recommendations may not fully resolve your issue, and I appreciate your patience as we work through it.
If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".
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Neerja Ahuja 20 Reputation points
2025-08-15T13:02:31.4433333+00:00 I had already done repair and version updated. Tried recommendation. Still not working. But thanks for your help
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Allison-H 1,100 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
2025-08-15T14:54:27+00:00 Thank you for updating
To better assist, could you please confirm:
-Does the issue occur in a specific file or across all PowerPoint files? Please create a new PowerPoint presentation and check if the problem persists.
-Is the affected PowerPoint file one you created originally, or was it imported from a third-party service?
As far as I know if a presentation is created in a third-party service and then exported to PowerPoint, the indentation in textboxes may not function properly.
I am looking forward for your response
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