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A drop cap (dropped capital) is a large capital letter used as a decorative element at the beginning of a paragraph or section. The size of a drop cap is usually two or more lines.

The following illustration shows your options for positioning a drop cap.

Dropped and in margin capital letters

Add a drop cap

  1. Select the first character of a paragraph.

    Select the first letter of your paragraph.
  2. Go to Insert > Drop Cap.

    The Drop Cap option is on the Insert tab.
  3. Select the drop cap option you want.

    • To create a drop cap that fits within your paragraph, select Dropped.

      On the Drop Cap menu, choose Dropped. Example of a drop cap within the paragraph.
    • To create a drop cap that is in the margin, outside of your paragraph, select In margin.

      In the Drop Cap menu, choose In margin to drop the cap in the margin and not in the paragraph. Example of a drop cap within the margin.

Tip: You can change the size and font of the drop cap, as well as its distance from the text. To do so, select Drop Cap > Drop Cap Options, and under Options, make your selections.

Remove a drop cap

  1. Highlight the large drop cap letter.

  2. Go to Insert > Drop Cap and select None.

    Choose None to remove a drop cap.

See also

Indent the first line of a paragraph

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