"Tab" key no longer works as a shortcut to demote items in an outl

[Vanessa]

Usually if have an outline (like a bulleted or numbered list), and I press
"tab", it demotes the item (e.g., 2.) automatically indents and becomes a.)).
One day it just stopped working. Now if I press "tab", it inserts a tab.
How can I fix this? I tried deleting normal.dotm, but it didn't fix the
problem.

Thanks!
Vanessa

 

[grammatim]

Is "Don't use hanging indent as tab stop for bullets and numbering"
checked? (Where to find it depends on your version of Word.)

 

[Vanessa]

I couldn't find that option exactly... but while I was looking for it, I
found "Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces" under
Proofing->AutoFormat, and that did the trick. Thanks for your response!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There's a setting that governs this that can be in any of three places
depending on version:

1. Word 2000 and earlier: Tools | Options | Edit: Tabs and backspace set
left indent.

2. Word 2002 and 2003: Tools | AutoCorrect Options | AutoFormat As You Type:
"Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces."

3. Word 2007: Office Button | Word Options | Proofing | AutoCorrect Options
| AutoFormat As You Type: "Set left- and first-indent with tabs and
backspaces."

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[grammatim]

That's what I was hoping to find but I didn't see it anywhere. The
"Don't" one is in the long alphabetical list of "compatibility
options" in 2007 for which no explanation whatsoever is provided in
Help.