Tab stops and leaders

Use tab stops when a line needs aligned pieces of text, such as a price list or a contents row. Put a Tab character between the pieces. Then select the paragraph and open Tab stops in the text Properties panel, or work on the tab ruler over the selected text frame.

Add a stop at the position where the next piece should land. Choose left, center, right, or character alignment to suit the content. A right-aligned stop keeps page numbers or prices lined up even when their lengths differ. Move or remove a stop if the line no longer fits the frame.

A leader fills the gap before the tabbed text. Pick dots, spaced dots, a line, or no leader. Leaders belong to the tab stop, so they adjust as the wording changes. Do not type a long row of periods by hand; it will drift when a font or heading changes.

For a generated contents list, the table of contents tool can create the tab stops and leaders for you. For a larger grid of data with borders or cell formatting, use a table instead.