use of the center tab

[drywit01]

I'm using Word 2003 SP2.

I have text that I want to center with a format of xxx tab xxx. I
insert a center tab ( _|_ ) between them and the text segments jump
apart but by too much. So I adjusted the placement of the center
tab. As the tab approaches 1" from either direction, the space
between the segments shrinks to zero.

Also, the placement of the tab along the ruler doesn't correspond to
the space between the segments, 3" doesn't mean the segments are 3"
apart, etc.

What concept am I not understanding?

 

[Guest]

If you set a centre tab at 3" and press the tab key and start to type half of
the text will be before the 3" tab and the other half to the right of the 3"
mark. Remember that there are also left tabs set at 1/2" intervals indicated
by a dark grey dot at the bottom of the ruler. When you set any tab all
preset tabs to the left of your set tab are removed.

The ruler does not show 3" segments. It is merely a reflection of your
printed page, eg 3" on the ruler is 3" to the right of your margin. I hope
this helps.

 

[drywit01]

does the center tab have any intended use other than when set at 3"?

 

[Jay Freedman]

You can set a center-aligned tab stop at any location on the ruler -- it
doesn't have to be at 3". Each piece of text that you place at that stop
will center on the location of the stop, _not_ at the center of the page.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[drywit01]

I understand. Then why is the result imbalanced when the segment to
the left of the tab is shorter than the segment on the right (or vice
versa)

 

[Jay Freedman]

I don't understand your comment.

Let's say I put a center-aligned tab stop at 2" on the ruler. At the
left margin I type a tab character, which moves the cursor to the 2"
position. Then I start typing words, and the words stay centered at 2"
until the line gets longer than 4"; then the left end stays at the
left margin (because it can't go any farther left) and the additional
length continues to extend on the right.

So as long as the text's length is less than twice the distance from
the tab stop to the margin, the text will be centered at the tab stop.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Note that you don't need a center tab to center text; you can use Center
alignment (Ctrl+E) if all the text on the line/in the paragraph is to be
centered. The only thing that will throw centering off is indents; often
users don't take a first-line indent into account. A center tab is for use
in a line when some text needs to be centered on a specific point and other
text needs to be left- or right-aligned.

If you want to center text between margins using a center tab, be sure the
tab is actually centered between the margins. For Word's default 1.25" left
and right margins, which result in 6" between margins, the 3" tab is
correct. If you reduce the margins to 1", giving a 6.5" line length, then
the tab needs to be at 3.25".

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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