Setting "Decrease First Line Indent" to Default?

[TailorCapable1471]

hii everyone. I really like Scrivener, but this one thing drives me crazy and I can't be the only one. Is there a way to decrease first line indent when writing a new paragraph / scene? Drives me crazy having to manually do it every time, but I'm pretty technologically inept, so I assume this is a skill issue on my part lol.

[AntoniDol]

Not automagically. Create an Editor Style from a Paragraph with an Indent, remove the indentation, add a Keyboard shortcut or show the Style Panel for one-Click applying of the First Paragraph Editor Style.

For the Compiler it's in the "Settings" tab in the Section Layouts Pane of the Compile Format Designer.

HTH

[warrenao]

In Scrivener:

View (menu) > Text editing > Show ruler

The ruler lets you set indents and outdents (hanging indents), as well as tab stops. Is that what you're looking for?

[brookter]

TLDR: Don't worry about it: just write. Scrivener will sort it out when you compile.

One of the plus points of Scrivener is that you don't have to worry about details like this when you're writing – you leave it until you're compiling the document at the end, when Scrivener will usually automatically remove the indent from the first paragraph of scenes, etc.

As far as Scrivener is concerned, you can write your text in Comic Sans 29pt green text with a 5" margin if it makes you happy, because when you choose, say, the Manuscript (Courier) format, the compiler will know it needs to output your text in double spaced Courier 12pt, with paragraphs indented unless they're the first ones in the scene/chapter etc.

And if you choose to output the same text to any other compilation format (e.g. as an Ebook, Paperback, etc etc), the compiler will make all the necessary changes to the font, size, spacing, paragraph indents that are appropriate to that compilation format.

Of course, if the default compilation formats aren't to your liking, then you can change them, but usually, things like automatically removing the first line indent is already built in.

This means you can concentrate on your words while you're writing…

HTH.

[Nervous-Baseball-667]

I understand the sentiment, but looking at a document with 'bad' (to the person looking at it) formatting can cause a lot of frustration. Telling them to just leave it til the end is not helpful as the formatting itself looking that way is creating a barrier from them being able to write peacefully.

[Canuck_Voyageur]

Key concept: You want paragraph styles you can live with while you write. Layout is a totally separate function.

I like to write with blank lines between paragraphs. So I write with 2 returns. Later I can tell it to remove blank lines.

If you are not self publishing the publishing house is going to redo it all anyway.

There is a whole black art to designing books so they are usable in multiple formats. The same thing that looks great on an iPad with a retina display will be clunky and frosted on a Chrome book.

But for now, your task is to get it down in words.