Working with Tabs in Word
Tab stops, or tabs, mark the place where the insertion point will stop with you
press the tab key. Tabs are useful for creating tables or aligning numbered items.
Tabs are preset by Word every half inch, but you can set your own tabs and check
where the insertion point will stop when you hit the tab key. Text alignment can be
set in four different ways. The chart below outlines the four different types of
tab stops:
Tab
Function
Left Tab
Aligns selected text at the point indicated on the horizontal
ruler.
Right Tab
Aligns selected text at the point indicated on the horizontal
rule. This is useful for aligning page numbers in a table of
content.
Center Tab
Centers selected text at the point indicated on the horizontal
ruler. This is used with titles and announcements.
Decimal Tab
Aligns selected text on the decimal point at the point indicated
on the horizontal ruler. This is helpful when preparing price
lists, invoices, and menus.
Example of Ruler Bar showing tabs:
Left Tab
Decimal Tab
Center Tab
Right Tab
Under the direction of your teacher, create the following table with the use of
tabs:
Company
Cost
Weight Limit
Delivery Time
Lightning.......................... $11.75 ....................... 1 lb 4 oz ............................1:00 p.m.
Pronto ............................... $9.99 ......................... 10 oz ............................12:30 p.m.
Zippy ................................ $14.50 .......................... 2 lbs ............................. 10:00 a.m.
Speed Air ......................... $12.95 ......................... none ..............................3:00 p.m.
Working with Columns in Word
Formatting text in columns often makes the text easier to read. You can apply
column formatting to a whole document or to selected text. The Columns button in
the Page Layout tab allows you to quickly create columns of equal width and
spacing, and to customize the width and spacing of columns. To control the way
text flows between columns, you can insert a column break (Page Layout tab>Breaks
arrow>Column break), which forces the text after the break to move to the top of
the next column.
To format text into columns, you have the option to format as you go or to select
the text after it is typed and format it into columns. In both instances, the steps
are the same with one exception. To format into columns after the text has been
typed, you simply need to select the text you wish to format. Otherwise,
formatting text in columns will take place on all text typed after the columns
option has been selected.
The tools to create columns are found in the Page
Layout tab, Page Setup group. Clicking the columns
button will give you a gallery of column options from
which to choose. You may select one of those
options or choose More Columns at the bottom of
the menu to create more specific column settings.
In the
Columns dialog box, you have options
specify any number of columns, add a line
between columns, change column widths by
column, change space between each
column, or apply to the whole document or
from this point forward. By default, each
column will be of equal width unless
specified otherwise. Left and Right
options will