How do I set tabs in Adobe® InDesign®?

Tabs are helpful for aligning columnar text. Scoreboards, which are in many yearbooks, are one form of columnar text that is created with tabs. They provide an easy way to learn how to use tabs with some of the tools that InDesign provides.

Scoreboards typically feature the name of the opposing school and the scores of the game. Your primary concerns are for the columns to be aligned and the layout of the scoreboard to be consistent with the others in the book.

Layout design decisions

• How many columns - two or three?
• First column - opposing school name or scores?
• How much space is available?
• Graphic elements - will any be used?

Type text

• Type the first line of text using the default tab values (Press tab, type your text, press tab, type more text, press tab, type more text).
• Highlight the text with the Type tool.
• Select Tabs from the Type menu (Windows: Ctrl + Shift + T, Mac: Command + Shift + T).

Tabs palette

• Tabs apply to the current paragraph or selected text.
• Tabs palette has four different types of tabs: left, right, centered and decimal (top left corner of the palette).
  • Decimal tabs align on a decimal or another character.
  • To align on a character, type or paste the character in the Align On field.
• Click on the magnet icon  to snap the palette to the top of the column.

Add a tab:

• Click above the ruler at the place you want the tab, or
• Type a position in the X box and press Enter/Return.

Change a tab:

• Change, for example from a left tab to a right tab:
• Click on the left tab.
• Click on the right tab icon.

Move a tab to a different position:

• Drag it to a new position, or
• Type a new position in the X field and press Enter/Return.

Delete a tab:

• Drag it off the ruler.

Add more text:

• The text automatically adjusts as you add or delete tabs.
• After setting the tabs, place the cursor at the end of the first line of text.
• Press Return/Enter and type the second line.
• The copy will take on the formatting you just set up.

This scoreboard uses decimal and centered tabs.

This scoreboard uses left, decimal and center tabs.