Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: Quickly Displaying the Tabs Dialog Box.
A handy shortcut to quickly display the Tabs dialog box is to double-click on the ruler just below the markings appearing there. Make sure you double-click at the bottom of the ruler, not at the top. (If you double-click at the top, the Page Setup dialog box appears.) (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1. The Tabs dialog box.
You should note that when you double-click on the ruler, you may also inadvertently set a tab stop. If you want to delete the newly placed tab stop, you can do so at 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 (13322) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Quickly Displaying the Tabs Dialog Box.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!
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.
Discover MoreNeed to change the alignment of some tabs in a multitude of paragraphs? How you approach the problem depends on whether ...
Discover MoreWord offers a variety of tabs that define different ways to align text. If you need to align numeric values, you'll ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2014-11-29 16:59:24
Skip Nicholson
If you double-click at the bottom of the ruler in the margin area (normally the gray area at the far left and right of the ruler) you won't be setting a new tab, just opening the dialogue box.
2014-11-29 09:37:39
Art Osgatharp
Tabs can also be quickly and easily removed, without needing to open the tab dialog, by clicking the tab mark, dragging below the ruler and releasing.
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.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2018 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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: 
Comments