Word of the week: Tab stops

Yes, it's two words--but two questions come up a lot:

  • How do you put a tab stop in a table cell?
  • How do you get those dotted underlines below the tab stops, like you see in a table of contents. (We call them "dot leaders.")


To put a tab stop in a table cell, hold down the CTRL key while you press the TAB key.

Dot leaders are just a bit more involved. We'll show you both:

For more information, see Set tab stops or clear them.

And if you are making a table of contents, consider using the automatic features in Word 2010. They will save you quite a lot of typing.

--Joannie Stangeland

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  • I use Word and want to email the document while in Word. However, a message comes up when I try that shows another email service which I don't use. How can I change the settings in Word to go to my default email service? Thanks

  • Dear Bobkg,

    The email functionality in Word is designed to work with Outlook--and I'm guessing that's the email service that's coming up in the message. I am still asking around to see whether there is a programmatic way to change the settings. If I find out, I'll let you know.

    -- Joannie

  • It is good that in TOC it is possible to change whether you want to use dots or something else as a separator. I often use blank spaces or some other symbols that make my TOC look more interesting. :-)

  • Dear Mike,

    I'm glad it's working for you! (Now I'm imagining a TOC with tilde leaders, which might be just a little too crazy.)

    -- Joannie

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