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Tab stops (tab stop: A location on the horizontal ruler that indicates how far to indent text or where to begin a column of text.) enable you to line up text to the left, right, center, or to a decimal character or bar character. You can also automatically insert specific characters, such as periods or dashes, before the tabs.

1. Select the paragraph in which you want to set a tab stop.
2. Do one of the following:

   To set tabs

   1. Click Left Tab at the far left of the horizontal ruler (horizontal ruler: A bar marked off in units of measure (such as inches) that is displayed across the top of the document window.) until it changes to the type of tab you want: Left Tab , Right Tab , Center Tab , Decimal Tab , or Bar Tab .

   2. Click the horizontal ruler where you want to set a tab stop.

   Tip

   To set precise measurements, click Tabs on the Format menu, enter the measurements you want under Tab stop position, and then click Set.

   To set tabs with leader characters

   1. On the Format menu, click Tabs.
   2. Under Tab stop position, type the position for a new tab, or select an existing tab stop to which you want to add leader characters (leader character: A solid, dotted, or dashed line that is used in a table of contents and that fills the space used by a tab character.).
   3. Under Alignment, select the alignment for text typed at the tab stop.
   4. Under Leader, click the leader option you want, and then click Set.