Is it possible to automatically adjust indent of "default paragraph style" to the position of previous style?

[DMG]

UPDATE: I temporarily “worked around” my issue by creating a list of corresponding “Text Under Hx” styles that were set to the appropriate indentation, and were also listed as the “Next Style” under the Organizer for the matching Heading style. Let me know if there is a better way, though…

See below:

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Hello, everyone. I am trying to learn LibreOffice 7.4.3.2.

For my document’s outline, I am using a set of Heading styles that increase the indent with each level (ie., Heading 1 indents at 0.5"; Heading 2 indents at 1"; Heading 3 indents at 1.5", etc.). [Note: This outline template with styles was originally created in Microsoft Word.]

In the Organizer tab for each Heading style, I have also designated the Next Style to “Default Paragraph Style.”

After typing the Heading, I always type a paragraph underneath, using the “Default Paragraph Style.”

MY PROBLEM: Because every Heading level is indented at a different position, I must always adjust the position of the Default Paragraph Style to match that of the previous Heading… which is a huge time waster.

It would be WONDERFUL if I could configure the Default Paragraph Style to automatically adjust to the indent position of the previous Heading. Is that possible? If not, how may I request that feature?

THANK YOU for any help… much appreciated!

[anon87010807]

That isn’t possible. Instead, make a set of paragraph styles with increasing indents that match the indentation of your headings, all based on the Text body style, for instance named Indented 1, Indented 2, etc. Then set Next style for Heading 1 to Indented 1, for Heading 2 to Indented 2, etc.

[ajlittoz]

Contrary to common belief, Default Paragraph Style is not a style for writing text. It is the ultimate ancestor of all other styles. What you set there will be shared by all others. To avoid problems, customise Text Body or create styles derived from it. Default Paragraph Style is fine for setting your own defaults, but nothing else.

Thinking quietly about your issue, I bet we can do with a single paragraph style associated with a list style. The list style is responsible for for the indent, while the paragraph describes all other visual effects. I’ll create an example document and attach it.

[DMG]

Thank you, @floris_v ! Because there is evidently no way to do this, your work-around (creating multiple associated text-body styles with the correct indentation that are also linked to the appropriate heading style) is very helpful.

[DMG]

Thank you, @ajlittoz .

I am brand-new to LibreOffice, so I need to learn a lot more about style creation in Writer.

I did look at the properties of the Text Body style in your attachment, and saw that the “List Style” was set to “Aligned Heading Indentation,” which suggests that it will automatically indent with the last Heading style.

But when I tried it out, the Text Body style did not automatically align with the first letter in my previous header. So, I did pressed tab until it aligned (per your suggestion).

[ajlittoz]

The trick is to turn your Text Body paragraph style into one fit for bullet list.

I create an Aligned Heading Indentation list style where I copy the indentation defined in Tools>Chapter Numbering. To make the bullet invisible, I choose a space character.
Associate the list style with Text Body in Outline & List tab.

It is now very simple to achieve your layout: after a Heading n heading, press Tab n-1 times. If you pressed too many, remove the excess with Shift+Tab.

Demo document: AskLOHeadingIndents.odt (40.7 KB)