Set tab size in Microsoft Word?

Question

For some reason, on a document I have, the size of a tab has been reduced to almost nothing. This means that it is hard to determine the indentation level of a line. Is there anyway to change the sizes of the tabs for this section of the document?

Answer 1

An alternative to using the Tabs dialog box is to set tabs directly on the ruler. Click the Tabs selector on the left side of the ruler until it displays the tab alignment you want. Then click the ruler in the location where you want to set the type of tab you selected. To delete a tab, click the tab marker on the ruler, and then drag it down and off the ruler.

You can visually see where the tab stop is in relation to your left margin and make any adjustment you need to. If the tab is too close to the left margin, just select it and drag it to the right. But be aware that you need to select the paragraphs you want to make the change for before you do so.

The following table describes the different types of tabs so you can identify them on the ruler.

Answer 2

You can check what the default tab stops are set to in the Paragraph group on the Home tab. Microsoft explains it as follows:

1. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Paragraph dialog box launcher
2. In the Paragraph dialog box, click Tabs
3. In the Tabs dialog box, in the Default tab stops box
4. Enter the amount (a unit of measure) of space you want between tab stops
5. Click the up or down arrow to select a standard unit of measure (for example, .4")
6. Click OK.

You can also highlight a section of the document and set the tabs by clicking a location or locations on the ruler where you want the tab to be appear.

1. At the leftmost edge of the ruler, click the tab stop in the Tab Selector you want, and then click the location on the ruler where you want to set the tab. If you don't see the Ruler click View > Ruler.

Note: The leftmost edge defines what type of tab you want, left, right, center, decimal, and bar.

Hope this helps!