Working with tabbed lists in Microsoft Word 2019

In this topic, we will create and adjust a tabbed list, create analigned tabbed list, and learn how to delete or replace listtabs. When you press the Tab key on the keyboard, thecomputer automatically jumps to a certain position on the page. Thisposition is termed the tab stop position and isautomatically set to jump at 1.27-cm intervals when pressing theTab key on the keyboard.

Sometimes, you may need to create a wider or smaller gap betweentabs. Tabs are great to line up lists of things on a page. The defaultalignment of tabs is set to left-align. On the ruler bar, youhave access to different tab types, which aids the user in lining uptext.

The following is an example of why we need to use tabbed lists toline up text. We should never use spaces to line up items in a list asthis would be a disaster if we decided to change the font face or fontsize, as the list would all jumble up.

Let’s look at the following example:

This list does not look professional as the Subject tab has pushed the text over toofar. Therefore, we need to adjust the tab spacing so that we are able toalign our list correctly. From the following screenshot, you will seethat the tabs are indicated by arrows pointing to the right. These arevisible only when the Show/Hide iconis selected to show markers in your document: 

Every time the Tab key on the keyboard is pressed, anarrow appears in the document as a tab marker. Let’s learn how tocorrect the list so that it lines up correctly, by following thesesteps:

1. Highlight the list.
2. Move your mouse to the 3 cm markon the ruler and click.
3. A left tab marker appears on the ruler and the list is now inline, as illustrated in the following screenshot: