Tabs display text in a columnar format or offset text with extra
white space. Moreover, you can use tabs to align text in different
ways. A tab is treated like a character, however, unlike other text
characters, tabs can be set to align in different ways and can be
set at different locations on the page.
One of the most common uses for tabs is to create a left and right
aligned header for pages, as in the example below.

To Set Tab Properties
- Enter the text and place [TAB] characters in the text where
appropriate.
- Select the text where you want to edit the tabs.
- Click once in the ruler to create the tab. A small triangle
appears, this is a tab stop. Notice that the tabs in the selected
text align to this tab stop.
- Drag the tab stop to the desired location. The tab stop moves
from ruler tick to ruler tick. If you want the tab stop to slide
on the ruler, regardless of the ticks and marks, press and hold
the [ALT] and "Windows" keys while moving the tab stop
with the mouse. For older PC keyboards, in lieu of the "Windows"
key, press [CTRL] on the right side of the keyboard. For Macintosh
style keyboards this is the [OPTION] key.
- When the tab stop is in the correct location, right click on
the triangle. A popup menu is displayed.
- Select Edit Tab from the popup menu. The Edit Tab
dialog box is displayed. This dialog box allows you to modify
the location and alignment of the tab stops.

- In the Tab Type box, select the alignment option.
Left: All text after the tab left aligns to the tab stop.
See diagram below.
Center: All text after the tab centers on the tab stop.
See diagram below.
Right: All text after the tab right aligns to the tab.
See diagram below.
Align To: You can enter any character and the text will
align to that character. This is useful for aligning text to a
decimal point. If the character entered does not exist in the
line, the text right aligns to the tab stop. See diagram below.
- In the Tab Fill box, select the options for any characters that
should proceed the tab stop.
None: Nothing (blank space) will proceed the tab stop.
See diagram below.
With Pen: A solid line will proceed the tab stop. See
diagram below.
With Char: A continuous repetition of whatever character
entered will proceed the tab stop. See diagram below.
- Use the Tab Position field to place the tab at an exact location
on the page.
- Click OK when finished editing the tab.
NOTE: By default, the program places left-aligned tab stops every
0.5 inches.
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