How to modify tab settings in WordPerfect
When you use WordPerfect® with the ruler displayed, you can easily modify tab settings. The ruler includes a tab bar with default tab stops at half-inch intervals. Tab stops determine where the cursor moves to when you tab forward or backward in a document.
Figure 1
The tab bar appears under the ruler.
To add tab stops
You can add tab stops to a document by using exact measurements or by using the ruler. To add tab stops by using the ruler, first ensure that the ruler is displayed: click View > Ruler (shortcut: Alt + Shift + F3). With the ruler displayed, simply click in any paragraph in which you want to add tab stops. To the left of the ruler, click the tab button
Figure 2
The tab button is located to the left of the ruler.
When you add a tab stop to a paragraph, the margin icon
To add tab stops by using exact measurements, click the tab button, and choose Tab Set. In the Tab Set dialog box, choose a tab type from the Tab type list box. Type a value in the Tab position box. Before proceeding, you need to consider how to position tab settings. There are two choices: From left margin (relative) or From left edge of paper (absolute).
Choosing From left margin (relative) measures the distance of the tab stop relative to the left margin. When the left margin changes, the tab stop adjusts accordingly. Choosing From left edge of paper (absolute) measures the distance of the tab stop from the left edge of the page. When the left margin changes, the tab stop remains fixed.
Enable one of the options, and click Set.
You can also copy a tab stop by using the ruler, or add tab stops at evenly spaced intervals. To copy a tab stop by using the ruler, click a paragraph, hold down Ctrl, and drag the tab stop to another position on the ruler.
To add tab stops at evenly spaced intervals, click the tab button and choose Tab Set. In the Tab Set dialog box, you can enable the Repeat every check box and type a value in the adjacent box.
To move tab stops
WordPerfect lets you move a tab stop or multiple tab stops. To move a tab stop, simply click in a paragraph and drag the tab stop to a new position on the ruler. To move multiple tab stops, hold down Shift and drag across the tab stop on the tab bar to select them. Then, drag the tab stops to a new position.
Figure 3
You can select and move multiple tab stops.
To remove tab stops
There are multiple methods for removing tab stops. In the Tab Set dialog box, click Clear to remove the first tab stop to the left edge of the ruler. Clear all removes all tab stops. You can also remove a tab stop by dragging it off the ruler. In addition, you can remove all tab stops by right-clicking a tab stop and choosing Clear all tabs.
To restore tab stops
If you've modified the tab stops, you can restore the default tab settings. Simply right-click a paragraph, and choose Default tab settings from the menu.
It ought to be pretty simple, really. Even though Microsoft Word, by default, sets left tabs every half inch (at least in the U.S. version - elsewhere may vary), sometimes you need something different. Even if only for a particular part of your document. So, how on earth do you set tabs in Microsoft Word?
More...
The starting point: Format Paragraph
Tabs in Microsoft Word are considered part of paragraph formatting, along with indentation, justification, and line spacing. So the first thing you'll need to do to re-set your tabs is go to the Format Paragraph dialog box. In the ribbon-based versions of Word (2007 and up), that's accomplished by clicking the launcher arrow in the bottom right-hand corner of the Paragraph section of the Home tab:
Click this launcher arrow to get to the Paragraph dialog box ...
The Format Paragraph dialog box looks like this:
No matter which tab of this dialog box you're in, the Tabs function is just one click away. See the button in the bottom left-hand corner? Click it, and you'll be taken here:
Now the fun begins. This is the Tabs dialog box where you'll be setting up your tabs.
Left tabs are fairly simple, mainly because they're the default choice (the radio button next to Left in the Alignment section is selected). Simply type the tab position measurement (in inches, centimeters, or whatever measurement you're using) into the Tab stop position box, click the Set button, then click OK.
That's it!
An even easier way to set tabs
But what if I told you there was an even easier way to do this? One that didn't involve going through the menu system?
You'd be interested in that, right?
If you're more of a visual person, this method will instantly appeal to you. I'm assuming you've got your Ruler visible in Word (if you don't, go to the View tab and check the box next to Ruler in the Show/Hide section of the ribbon). Click your mouse anywhere along the horizontal Ruler across the top of your document:
I clicked at the 1-1/2" mark. Notice that L-shaped symbol that appears there? (Feel free to click that illustration above to get a bigger version. I'll wait here, I promise.) That symbol means I've just placed a left tab at that point.
If you decide that tab isn't quite where it needs to be, hey, no prob. Just use your mouse to drag it over in either direction.
And if you want to make it into another kind of tab, it's easy to do that, too. Double-click on that tab setting to go back to the Tabs dialog box, choose a different radio button (Center, Right, etc.), then click OK.
Now, I ask you: Could that have been any easier?
Well, yes, actually, it can. (This just keeps getting better and better.) Here, let me show you:
(Feel free to hit that full screen button on the bottom right of the video player so you can see the finer details of this.)
Setting tabs for one part of your document
If you've ever tried to re-set tabs for a document and found that suddenly all the default tabs were gone or you'd messed up the rest of your document somehow, here's a little trick: Select the text you want affected by the new tab settings, then set the tabs. The rest of the document will be unaffected.
What challenges have you had with setting tabs? Let me know in the comments below.