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.

Using Leaders with Tab Stops

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated April 23, 2016)

1

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:

  1. Position the insertion point in the paragraph whose tabs you wish to set or alter.
  2. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  3. Click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Paragraph group. Word displays the Paragraph dialog box.
  4. Click the Tabs button. Word displays the Tabs dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    5. Figure 1. The Tabs dialog box.

  5. Enter a tab stop measurement and alignment. (You can also select the measurement of an existing tab stop, if desired.)
  6. Select a leader from the four choices offered.
  7. Click on Set.
  8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 for each tab stop you want to set.
  9. Click on OK.

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.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Doubling Your Money

Make your money last longer by using your head when printing labels. Here's a great example of how you can double the ...

Discover More

Pulling Filenames into a Worksheet

You can use Excel for all types of data processing. You may want to work with filenames in a worksheet, but the first ...

Discover More

Adding a ScreenTip

Need to add a ScreenTip to your document? It's easy to do, provided you are adding a hyperlink.

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Accurately Setting Tabs Using the Ruler

If you try to set tabs by clicking on the Ruler, you may not be able to set them exactly where you want. This is normally ...

Discover More

Searching for Tabs

Tabs don't normally show up in your printed document, but Word allows you to still search for them. All you need to do is ...

Discover More

Using Dot Leaders in a Paragraph

Adding dot leaders to your text is easy through the application of tab stops. This tip explains the steps you need to ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven minus 2?

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!

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.