Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Using Leaders with Tab Stops.
You probably already know how to insert tab stops in a paragraph. Word allows you to control what characters are inserted in the otherwise blank area created by the tab. These characters are called leaders, and are controlled with the Tabs command from the Format dialog box. Leaders are often used with right-aligned tabs or decimal tabs, particularly when the text column is quite wide and the tab will cover a wide area. To use leaders with tab stops, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Tabs dialog box.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6709) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Using Leaders with Tab Stops.
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Need to adjust the position of tab stops in a paragraph? One simple way to do it is to just drag them around on the ruler.
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2017-03-08 11:47:06
JC
How can you set up the decimal tab to always have leader dots? How can I make leader dots the default on a decimal tab? I'd like to be able to click on the decimal icon in that little box on the left of the screen and when I click it on the ruler it automatically includes the leader dots when I use it. It would save so much more time than going to the paragraph box all the time. We use tabs with leader dots a lot, so I'd like to know a way to do this.
Thanks!
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: 
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