Illustrator

Set tabs

Tab stops apply to an entire paragraph. When you set the first tab, Illustrator deletes all default tab stops to the left of that stop. As you set more tab stops, Illustrator deletes all default tabs between the tabs you set.

  1. Insert the cursor in a paragraph, or select a type object to set tab stops for all paragraphs in the object.
  2. In the Tabs panel, click a tab-alignment button to specify how text aligns relative to the tab’s position:
    Left-Justified Tab
    to align horizontal text to the left, keeping the right margin ragged.

    Center-Justified Tab
    to center text on the tab mark.

    Right-Justified Tab
    to align horizontal text to the right, keeping the left margin ragged.

    Bottom-Justified Tab
    to align vertical text to the bottom margin, keeping the top margin ragged.

    Top-Justified Tab
    to align vertical text to the top margin, keeping the bottom margin ragged.

    Decimal-Justified Tab
    to place text in alignment with a specified character, such as a period or a dollar sign. This option is useful for creating columns of numbers.

    You can change the alignment of any tab by simply selecting it and clicking one of these buttons.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • Click a location on the tab ruler to position a new tab stop.

    • Type a position in the X box (for horizontal text) or Y box (for vertical text), and press Enter or Return. If the X or Y value is selected, press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to increase or decrease the tab value by 1 point, respectively.

      Note: When you use the tab ruler, you cannot set tab stops in increments smaller than 1. However, if you specify a position in the X or Y box, you can set stops at intervals as small as 0.01 point.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to add additional tab stops.
Note: For information on setting indents using the Tabs panel, see Indent text.