Tab Stops in Word 2007
A tab stop is a fixed position on the ruler. Press Tab and the cursor jumps there — exactly, every time, whatever the font or size. This sheet accompanies the video and assumes no prior knowledge.
1Why columns go crooked
Calibri and Cambria are proportional — every character is a different width, and so is a space. A run of spaces is never the same physical distance twice. A tab stop is a position measured from the margin, so it cannot drift.
2Switch the ruler on
Show the ruler
View tab → tick Ruler in the Show/Hide group, or use the small ruler button above the right scrollbar.
Show the marks
Press Ctrl *. Every tab appears as a small arrow →, every space as a faint dot.
Inches or centimetres
Office Button → Word Options → Advanced → Display → Show measurements in units of.
3Reading the ruler
Grey bands
Your page margins. Text lives in the white part between them.
Numbers
Inches from the left margin — the language you set stops in.
Orange marks
Your tab stops. Drag sideways to move, drag downwards off the ruler to delete.
Careful: the small triangles at the far left of the ruler are indent markers, not tab stops. They move whole paragraphs. If your text suddenly shifts sideways, you grabbed one of those by mistake.
4The five types of stop
The small box at the far-left corner of the ruler is the tab selector. Click it to cycle through these. Whatever symbol is showing is what you get when you next click the ruler.
| Type | What it does | Use it for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left | Text starts at the stop and runs right. | The everyday choice | |
| Centre | Text spreads evenly either side of the stop. | A heading over a column | |
| Right | Text ends at the stop. | Page numbers, dates, totals | |
| Decimal | The decimal point sits on the stop, so 950.00 and 12,345.50 still line up. | Money, always | |
| Bar | Draws a vertical rule. It is not a stop — the cursor ignores it. | A divider between columns |
5Method one — set it on the ruler
- Select the paragraphs first. Tab stops are paragraph formatting and apply only to what is selected.
- Click the tab selector until your type shows.
- Click once on the ruler where you want the stop.
- Drag sideways to move it; drag downwards off the ruler to delete it.
6Method two — the Tabs dialog
- Home tab → the small arrow at the corner of the Paragraph group → Tabs…
- Faster: double-click any stop already on the ruler.
- Type the position, choose Alignment and Leader, click Set.
- Repeat for each stop, then OK once. Clear All wipes the paragraph clean.
This dialog is the only place you can set a leader or an exact position such as 4.37".
7Leaders — the dots draw themselves
Recipe. One right tab stop near the right margin, leader option 2 (dots), Set, OK. Then type the name, press Tab once, type the number.
That is a table of contents, a menu, or a price list. Unlike full stops typed by hand, it re-flows correctly when you edit the text later.
8Worked example — a service invoice
Select all four lines, then Tabs dialog: 0.5" Left, Set → 2.5" Left, Set → 5.5" Decimal, Set → OK. Type each line with exactly one Tab between columns. The decimal stop keeps 380.00 and 12,450.00 aligned on the point.
9Five things that catch beginners
- Forgetting to select. You set a stop and only one line obeys it. Select every paragraph before you touch the ruler.
- Stops travel forward. Press Enter and the new paragraph inherits them — useful, but they follow you further than you expect.
- Tables steal the Tab key. Inside a table, Tab jumps to the next cell. Press Ctrl Tab to insert a real tab.
- Pressing Tab twice. If one press does not reach, the stop is in the wrong place. Move the stop — a second press will jump a whole column the moment the text gets longer.
- Using tabs where a table belongs. If the data needs borders, shading, or cells that wrap onto two lines, use a real table.
10Practise this before you move on
✓Cheat sheet
- Ruler on, formatting marks on Ctrl *
- Select the paragraphs
- Pick a type in the selector, click the ruler
- Or Home → Paragraph → Tabs… for exact numbers and leaders
- One Tab press per column — never two, never a space
- Save the set into a Style and never rebuild it
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