Unusual Tab Placement (Word XP/SP3)

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We are having a problem placing tabs exactly where we would like them in the ruler. For example, I would like to set a Left tab at 0.25. When I click in the ruler, the tab is placed either a little before or after the 0.25 mark, but I cannot get it to go right on the 0.25 (unless I go into Format – Tabs and set it manually). The same thing happens when wanting to set an indent at 0.25 or 0.5. This is really affecting the consistency of document formatting. Any thoughts?

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I don’t have that problem (in Word 2002 SP3), and I can’t find anything about it in Google or in the newsgroups. As a workaround, you can drag the tab markers with the Alt key held down; the distances between tabs will be displayed in the ruler while dragging, and the markers can be positioned exactly where you want them.

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Occasionally I have a similar problem precisely positioning the dividers between table columns. I don’t know what causes it, but restarting Word might help unblock it.

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The following may be a long shot, but in case you haven’t looked at it: Tabs placed in the ruler are going to snap to whatever grid increments are in effect for that document. So for example, if for some odd reason the horizontal spacing for the grid setting for your document is set to .23 inches, then when you try to place tabs in the ruler, they are going to want to go to .23 or .46, rather than .25 or .5. (This assumes that the ‘snap to grid’ setting is on as well, as is the default.)

To view or set the grid setting, make the Drawing toolbar visible, click on the Draw button and then on Grid…, to display the Drawing Grid dialog. See what kind of setting is in there for horizontal spacing, and change if necessary.

One way these settings can go funny, is when documents are shared across groups where some people are using inch measurements and some are using metric; someone using metric measurement might change the document settings to suit their needs, inadvertently throwing things off for the inch-centric.

Gary

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This explaines exactly what happened to a doc I recieved from someone via the internet and I could correct it using your tip!
(The doc contained a grid of 0.3 cm.)

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I followed this topic with interest.
Now I have another item (“reset the drawing grid from .32cm to .5cm “) to add to my long list of how to make Word work in metric.
1. Change the page size to A4
2. Change the margins to 3cm not 3.17cm etc
3. Change the default tab stops to 1 cm not 1.27cm
4. Redefine all the bullets and numbering to use cm distances
etc.

Does anyone have a comprehensive list? I am a contractor and every few months need to apply these settings at a new company.
Regards,
Judith

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I don’t know if all of these are true
– The UK uses inches as standard unit, but A4 as paper size.
– On my Dutch language system, with centimeters as unit, I have the following defaults:
– grid distance is 0.32 cm
– tab stop is 1.25 cm
– page margins are 2.5 cm, and headers/footers are 1.25 cm from the edge of the paper.

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Hans,

I’m not sure about “- The UK uses inches as standard unit”

Most of us use cm now, except for those who are extremely resistant to change!

StuartR

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Sorry, I wasn’t aware of that. Most public notices still seem to use miles, yards, feet etc.

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Miles are still the official measure of distance travelled (trains, cars, roads etc.). Unbelievable isn’t it. Give us another hundred years or two and we’ll move to the international standards.

StuartR

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Thank you so much – this did the trick for several users in our firm who were having the problem!

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