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Summary
Step by step instructions for setting tabs in Word 2013
Overview
The behavior of Word and Pages vary on what happens to a final tab leading to the right margin. In Word +the tab is caught by the margin+. The leader tab does not extend out to where you have the decimal tab which is well beyond the right margin. Instead the $500 is being caught by the margin indent, not the decimal tab. You can set tab stops to align text left, right, at the center, or on a decimal point. With tab stops in place, pressing the Tab key (or Option-Tab in a table cell), moves the insertion point (and any text after it) to the next tab stop. In the Format sidebar, click the Style button near the top. If the text is in a text box, table, or shape, first click the Text tab at the top of the sidebar, then click the Style button. In the Alignment section, click the alignment buttons you want. When it is set, you just use one tab character to space the lines, Word will handle the alignment. #1 click on the Paragraph dialog launcher #2 click on the tabs button in bottom right of the paragraph dialog #3 the end result will be the right align tab shown at #3 #4 enter a value for the 'right align' tab, I used 6.94 #5 click on 'right align'. See Peter's reply, but in a table cell you do not need to tab Control+Tab if there is no other content in the cell. Just set a Decimal Tab Stop at the spot on the Ruler at the point you want the decimal alignment to occur. Select the column (s) before setting the tab stops so you only have to set them once for each column.
Tabs allow you to position text exactly where you would like it. To avoid problems with text alignment, use tabs rather than spaces. The default tab settings for Microsoft Word are every half-inch. If you do not like the Word settings, you can set your own tabs.
Tab Types
Tabs come in different types which are defined by the way text aligns with the tab. Windows media player 12 download for mac. The following table explains the different tab types.
Tab Type | Windows Icon | Purpose |
---|---|---|
Left (Normal) | With the Left tab, text will begin at the tab position and continue to the right of the tab. | |
Right | With the Right tab, text will end at the tab and flow to the left. | |
Center | The Center tab works similar to centering a line of text but instead of centering between margins, text is centered at the tab location. | |
Decimal | The Decimal tab is used to align numbers and text with a period. This is useful for a group of numbers or a list of instructions. | |
Bar | The Bar tab is used to add a vertical line at that position. This could be used when you want to set off some text. |
Setting a tab does not automatically align your text. You still have to press [Tab] at the appropriate places.
There are two ways to work with tabs: from the Ruler or from the Tabs Dialog box.
Working with Tabs from the Ruler
Working with tabs using the Ruler option is a quick and easy way to set and adjust tabs. The Ruler options allow you to set, move, delete, or change tabs. You can display the ruler by clicking the View Ribbon, and checking the Ruler option in the Show group.
Setting Tabs
- Select the paragraph(s) that will receive new tab settings
- Click the TAB TYPE icon until the desired tab type is selected
- On the Ruler, click the lower edge of the ruler where you want the tab
Moving Tabs
- On the Ruler, click and hold the tab you want to move
- Drag the tab to the new location and release the mouse button
Deleting Tabs
- Click and hold the tab you want to delete
- Drag the tab into the document area of the screen and release the mouse button
Changing Tab Type
To change the tab type, you can either delete the tab and add a new tab of the correct type or you can use the Tabs dialog box.
Working with Tabs from the Tabs Dialog Box
The Tabs dialog box allows you to adjust the placement and type of tab. Although the Ruler option is a quicker way to adjust tabs, the dialog box allows you to use leaders and enter specific tab locations.
In the Tabs dialog box, you can set leaders for the tabs. Leaders are lines (solid, dashed, or dotted) that appear in the blank space created by a tab. The most common use for a leader is in a table of contents where a dotted line leads up to the page number. Leaders guide the reader's eye across the page.
![Right Right](/uploads/1/0/0/4/100403432/647089226.jpg)
To access the Tabs dialog box
- Select the paragraph(s) that will receive new tab settings
- From the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click PARAGRAPH
The Paragraph dialog box opens. - Click TABS..
The Tabs dialog box opens.
Setting Tabs
- Access the Tabs dialog box
- In the Tab stop position text box, type the desired value (in inches)
- Adjust the tab alignment and leader if necessary
- Click SET
- To set additional tabs, repeat steps 2-4
- >After all tabs have been set, click OK
Deleting Tabs
- Place the insertion point within the paragraph with the tab settings you want to delete
- Access the Tabs dialog box
- From the Tab stop position scroll box, select the tab to be deleted
- Click CLEAR
HINT: To delete all tabs, click CLEAR ALL - To delete other tabs, repeat steps 3-4
- Click OK
Align Two Tables In Word
Moving Tabs or Changing Tab Type
Moving tabs or changing the tab type in the Tabs dialog box involves adding a new tab and deleting the old one.
- Access the Tabs dialog box
- In the Tab stop position scroll box, select the desired tab
- Click CLEAR
- In the Tab stop position text box, type the new tab location
- Adjust the tab alignment and leader if necessary
- Click SET
- Click OK
Key Words: tabs, indents, indentations
Note: This article is for Word versions 2003 and earlier. For Word 2007 and 2010, seeWord 2007/2010 Number Alignment.
Word offers a number of ways to align text in documents, using paragraph alignment, tabs, indents, and tables. But the alignment of numbers can be a special challenge. This article discusses two different types of number alignment:
- Aligning numbers in automatic numbered lists. This includes numbering applied using the Numbering button or dialog and the numbering of entries in automatically generated tables of contents.
- Aligning numbers in tabular text. By “tabular text” I mean text that is set up in columns using tab stops. This includes manually created tables of contents, menus, price lists, and the like. There are two types of tab stops used for this kind of layout:
Numbered lists
If you don’t have much experience with, or very frequent need for, numbered lists, you probably apply auto numbering using the Numbering button on the Formatting toolbar (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Formatting toolbar showing Numbering button
This can be risky in a number of ways, but one of the most obvious is that it applies a standard numbering format that may not be suitable for your list. It works great for short lists—nine items or fewer—but when you get to 10 or more, one or both of two things happen (see Figure 2):
- The numbers are no longer aligned on the period or other punctuation following them.
- There may be a much larger space after the double-digit numbers than the single-digit ones.
This article will tell you how to solve both problems. Ideally, you should apply numbering by using a specific style that includes your customized numbering format, but even if you just use Normal style for everything and apply numbering with the Numbering button, the customizations I’ll describe here will apply so long as the number format you customized remains the default (if you choose a different format in the Numbering dialog, then it becomes the new default).
Equalizing the space
Let’s deal with the second problem first; this is an issue often seen in numbered headings. Suppose you apply numbering to Heading 1 using the default numbering style. The result will look like Figure 2. The reason for this is that the numbering has a hanging indent at 0.5″, allowing only 0.25″ between the left side of the first digit (which is at 0.25″) and the right side of the tab character following the number and period. This is adequate for numbered paragraphs in body text (using 12-point Times New Roman), but the heading uses much larger type. So the numbers 1–9, with following period and tab character, fit comfortably within this 0.25″ space, but when the numbers reach two digits, the combination becomes wider than 0.25″ and so the tab goes to the next default tab stop, at 1″.
Figure 2. Numbered Heading 1s showing incorrect alignment
The solution for this problem is to increase the size of the hanging indent. Note that this cannot be done on the ruler or in the Format | Paragraph dialog; it must be done in the Customize Numbered List dialog (see Figure 3). To access this dialog, go to Format | Bullets and Numbering and click on Customize.. (without changing the pane selected in the Bullets and Numbering dialog). In the case of the default Heading 1 style, it will be sufficient to increase the “Tab space after” and “Indent at” settings to 0.6″.
Figure 3. Numbering dialog showing appropriate settings
Important Note: It is strongly recommended that you make this change in the heading style itself, not as direct formatting. For more on customizing styles, see “How to modify a style in Word.” (To modify the number format of a style, click Format.. in the Modify Style dialog and choose Numbering.)If more than one heading level will be numbered, the headings need to be part of an outline-numbered list; for complete instructions on setting this up, see “How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in your Word document.”
Even if you have corrected this problem in the headings themselves, the problem will be replicated in a table of contents. Word generates tab stops in TOC styles dynamically, based on your layout and content. It sets a right-aligned tab stop at the right margin and a left indent that allows space for the paragraph number, punctuation (if any), and tab character. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, it sets the tab stop at 0.33″ for paragraphs with single-digit numbers and at 0.5″ for double-digit numbers! Presumably this is to allow the same amount of space between the numbers and the text.
Figure 4. TOC with uneven indents
So, once again, you will have to correct the setting. On the ruler, drag the tab stop following the numbers to a new position. Since the tab stop for the single-digit numbers allows enough room for the double-digit ones, unless you are going to increase the font size, you can drag the marker in one of the double-digit entries to the same position as the one in the single-digit ones.
Important Note: By default, all the TOC styles are set to update automatically. This means that, in general, any change you make in a single TOC entry at a given level will be propagated to all other entries at that level (this applies to paragraph formatting; changes in font formatting are not always propagated).
If some entries are long enough to run over to a second line, you may want to add a hanging indent (at the same position as the tab stop), as well as a right indent to make the text wrap short of the page numbers; this can be doneusing the ruler or through the Format | Paragraph dialog. (Note that if you use the ruler you will probably have to move the right tab stop in order to grab the right indent marker; be sure to move it back once you have the indent adjusted to your satisfaction.) For more on this type of formatting, see “TOC Tips and Tricks.”
Aligning on punctuation
Even when you have properly aligned the text following the numbers, the numbers still don’t look very nice. It is preferable to have them aligned on the periods or other punctuation following them (or the right edge of the number if there is no punctuation). This is also easily done.
Return to the Numbering dialog and choose “Right” for the number position. Depending on circumstances, this change may result in changes in the other settings, or you may have to fine-tune them yourself. You can experiment to figure out what combination of “Aligned at,” “Tab space after,” and “Indent at” will work best for the text in question. If you are using the default numbering style, which has “Aligned at” set at 0.25″, there will be plenty of room between the right side of the number and your left margin for single- or double-digit numbers. Using 12-point Times New Roman, 0.1″ is usually sufficient space between the number and the following text, so a setting of 0.35″ for “Tab space after” and “Indent at” will be good. For larger text, such as headings, you will need to adjust accordingly.
Figure 5. Numbering dialog showing right alignment and correct settings
Tabular text
Right-aligned tabs
If you let Word create a table of contents, table of figures, or index for you, you will see that, by default, it puts the page numbers at the right page or column margin, with a row of dots between the titles and the page numbers. To do this, it uses a right-aligned tab stop with a period leader. You can achieve the same effect when you need to create a table of contents manually or for similar applications such as programs, menus, price lists, and the like (see Figure 9). Here’s how:
- Set a right-aligned tab at the right margin (or wherever you want the numbers to end). There are two ways to do this: Super mario kart download mac.
- Go to Format | Tabs. In the dialog (see Figure 6), type the position for the tab stop in the “Tab stop position” box. Select “Right” under “Alignment.
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Figure 6. Tabs dialog with appropriate settings
- Set the tab stop on the horizontal ruler. If the ruler is not displayed, choose View | Ruler. At the left side of the ruler is a square button with an L icon; when this button is in effect, you will set a left tab anywhere you click on the ruler. In order to set a right tab, click the button twice to get a backwards L, then click on the ruler at the position where you want the tab stop. You can click near the right margin and then use the mouse to drag the tab stop to the exact position.
Figure 7. Ruler showing tab right tab button and right tab.
- Give the tab a period leader (if desired):
- If you’re using the Tabs dialog, select radio button 2 under “Leader” before closing the dialog.
- If you’ve used the ruler to set your tab stop, you’ll need to go to the Tabs dialog, select the appropriate tab stop (if there’s more than one) in the “Tab stop position” list, and select 2 under “Leader,” then click OK.
Figure 8. Tabs dialog showing leader buttons
- Press Tab in your document between the text you want on the left side of the page and the numbers (or text) you want on the right side.
Figure 9. A price list with prices right-aligned
Decimal tabs
A right-aligned tab stop works well when your numbers all have the same number of decimal places (or none) and when numbers are the only text to be aligned. But what if you have a combination of assorted numbers with different numbers of decimal places, negative numbers enclosed in parentheses, numbers followed by an asterisk or other reference mark, percent sign, or the like? For this you need a decimal tab stop.
You can insert a decimal tab stop the same way you did the right-aligned tab, either in the Tabs dialog (selecting “Decimal” as the Alignment) or on the ruler (one more click on the button will give you the upside-down T with a dot that indicates a decimal tab stop). The secret of a decimal tab stop is that it aligns numbers on the decimal point—even when there isn’t one there! In effect, it aligns numbers on the first non-numeric character (other than the thousands separator) following the numbers, whether this is a period, a parenthesis, an asterisk, or alphabetic text. See Figure 10.
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Figure 10. Examples of use of decimal tab stop
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Important Note: Decimal tab stops are especially useful in tables because, when you set a decimal tab stop in a cell or column, left-aligned text in that cell or column is automatically aligned at the tab stop position: you don’t have to enter a tab character (Ctrl+Tab in a table).
Excel Align Decimals In Column
This article copyright © 2007 by Suzanne S. Barnhill.