In our example, we have added left tab stops at 1”, 2.5”, and 4”. Where you click, a tab stop will be added.

Step #4: Insert custom tab stopsĬlick in the space slightly below the horizontal ruler. Pick the type of tab most suitable for your text.

Bar Tab Stop - Inserts a vertical line character at the tab stop.

Decimal Tab Stop - Aligns the text and numbers by decimal points.

Right Tab Stop - Aligns the right side of the text with the tab stop.

Center Tab Stop - Aligns the text to center it under the tab stop.

Left Tab Stop - Aligns the left side of the text with the tab stop.With each click, you will see the Tab Selector change, and present you with the following options: You can cycle through five types of tabs. Repeatedly click on the Tab Selector under the bottom left corner of the ribbon. Word will now display the Horizontal Ruler. In the section Show, click and select Ruler. Step #3: Turn on the Horizontal RulerĬlick on the View tab in the top menu bar to change the ribbon. Note that only default tab stops are present, and in our example below, you will see each (now visible) tab as a small arrow pointing right. Word will now display all invisible characters in the document. In the section Paragraph, click on the Pilcrow icon, which almost looks like a reverse P. Step #2: Make invisible characters visibleĬlick on the Home tab in the top menu bar to change the ribbon. Select the paragraph by clicking with your mouse at the starting point, and holding down the button, dragging it across the area you want to select. Navigate to the paragraph where you want to set custom tab stops. Open the Word document in which you want to add tab stops. Method #1: Custom Tab Stops Using the Horizontal Ruler Step #1: Open the MS Word document We will show you in simple, step-by-step instructions how to set custom tab stops using both methods. 2 ways you can set invisible, custom, tab stops: You can read more about it on our ‘What are Tab Stops?’ document.

A pilcrow represents a new paragraph, while an arrow represents a tab stop.Ī tab stop allows you to start (or end) text at a specified point on your page. For example, a dot represents a single space. These invisible characters have different purposes. In an MS Word document, you can turn on invisible characters.

Word set tab stops for document