Microsoft Word Decimal Tab
We all know what a tab is, right? It's that key near the upper left-hand corner of the keyboard we press to indent the first line of a paragraph.
Sometimes, though, simply moving the cursor over half an inch isn't what we want.
Take, for example, something like this:
Those numbers look okay -- they seem to line up pretty well. But how did this person get this result? Let's turn on Show/Hide (that paragraph symbol on the Home tab in the Paragraph section) to see the codes:
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The Center tab works similar to centering a line of text but instead of centering between margins, text is centered at the tab location. Decimal: The Decimal tab is used to align numbers and text with a period. This is useful for a group of numbers or a list of instructions. Bar: The Bar tab is used to add a vertical line at that position. When you work with numbers, setting a decimal tab makes numbers, such as amounts of currency, align correctly in a column. If you don’t see the ruler at the top of your document, go to View Ruler. Click or tap the tab selector on the left end of the ruler until you see the decimal tab. A decimal tab, if you're using numeric information and you want the decimals to line up perfectly, the decimal tab is the way to go. And the last type of tab that I wanna show you is the bar tab. Click the “Tab” selector at the top of the left ruler to bring up the “Decimal” tab. The “Decimal” tab symbol displays one horizontal line, one vertical line and a decimal on the right side. Usually, this “Decimal” symbol appears on the third click. Click and drag the cursor on the column that will contain the decimal tab.
Ah, I see. This person used Left Tabs (the default tabs you get when you hit the Tab key) to move the cursor to the left (signified by the left-pointing arrows above), then hit the space bar (the dots above) to get the numbers to line up.
But how well do they really line up? Let's turn on the gridlines (found on the View tab) to see:
Oooooh. Those numbers (and decimals) don't line up so well after all. But what else can you do?
Decimal tabs!
Decimal tabs allow you to fix the point on the line at which the decimal will appear. When you hit the Tab key to go to a decimal tab, you start typing the number, and the cursor stays in place while the digits ahead of the decimal point (such as dollars) move leftward. Once you type the decimal, the cursor then moves to the right as you type the digits behind the decimal (such as cents).
It's probably easier to show you than tell you:
Microsoft Word Table Decimal Places
[Note: To view full-screen, click the button in the lower right-hand corner]
This is a basic introduction to decimal tabs for those who (a) didn't know they existed or (b) were too intimidated to try them. There are more advanced strategies for managing tabs in documents, particularly if you have the Ruler turned on in the View tab like so:
Microsoft Word Decimal Tab In Table
... but that's a tutorial for another day. This will at least get you started with getting your decimals all lined up!