How to Use Leaders for Tab Stops in Word

I am sure you all know how to set tab stops in your Word documents by now. Word gives you complete control regarding which characters (to a certain extent) you can insert in the blank space created by the tab you insert in your document. The characters I am referring to are called Leaders and they can be found in the Tabs dialog box in Word.

You may be familiar with the much used right-aligned tabs or decimal tabs, especially when you have a very wide column and your tab will cover a large area. I often see tab leaders put into use when a Settlement Sheet or Disbursement Sheet is done at the end of a legal case and money has to be accounted for. It gives a very nice, neat appearance and helps the eye to follow to the side of your page.

Follow the steps below to learn how to use Leaders in your Tab Stops.

1. Place your cursor in your paragraph whose tabs you are going to set.
2. Click on the Home tab of your Ribbon.
3. In the Paragraph group, click the small icon at the bottom right to display the Paragraph dialog box.

4. Click the Indents and Spacing and then click the Tabs button at the bottom of the dialog box to display the dialog box.
5. Key in the tab stop measurement of your choice and alignment.
6. Select a Leader from the choices available to you.

7. Click on Set.
8. Click on OK.

In the screenshot below, you will see that I have chosen to use the Dot leader.

Nice neat appearance and very easy to do!