Understanding Tabs in Word 2003-PC

Tab Facts:

-    There are 5 types of tabs.

-    There are 3 types of leader characters that can precede tabs jumps.

-    Tabs are used for character or column alignment.

-    Tabs are set per paragraph not per line.

-    Tab positions can be set/shifted/cleared visually by the ruler line or numerically by the tab window (On menu bar, click Format, Tabs).

-    Tab positions are defaulted to 0.5” if no tabs are manually set.

 Tab types:

   Left Tab – to align characters or columns from the left side

    Centered Tab – to center characters or columns at a specific location

   Right Tab – to align characters or columns from the right side

   Decimal Tab – to align decimals in a column of numbers at a specific location

   Bar Tab – to create a vertical line down the page at a specific location

 Leaders:

........    Dots

------    Dashes

____   Underscore 

Tabs can be set by the ruler line:

Tab selection button Click location on ruler line
To change position, click and drag tab mark along ruler line to new position.  Using the ALT key while dragging, allows for more exact location. To clear a tab, click and drag tab mark straight down off ruler line

Tabs can be set numerically by using the tab window:
On Menu bar, click on Format, then Tabs.

To set:                                                                To clear:

-  Type number or decimal in inches             -  Click on tab position in list above
under Tab stop position                                  Tab stops to be cleared

-  Select type of tab alignment                       -  Click Clear

-  Select type of leader                                         or

-  Click Set                                                        -  Click Clear All to clear all tab positions
                                                                             in list

Example showing tab key pressed 3x with Show/Hide feature turned on:

Example of ruler line when holding ALT key while dragging tab character.  This allows for more exact positioning of tab.