Decimal Tabs Perform Differently in Tables? (Word 2007, PC, XP)

[Samuel Sunsmith]

Both inside and outside the table the settings are:
Paragraph Settings:
Paragraph Indententation Left: 0.25

Tab Settings OUTSIDE the Table:
1.50 Decimal

Tab Settings INSIDE the Table inorder to achive the same result as outside
the table:
.25 Left (matches Paragraph Indentation)
1.50 Decimal

In both cases there is some text, a tab, a number with a decimal:
Text<Tab>0.9

I'm expecting the same behavior both inside and outside the table,
that is:
Text aligns with Paragraph Indentation (0.25)
Number with Decimal aligns on the Decimal Tab (1.5)

Inside the Table, if I remove the .25 Left Tab Setting from the Paragraph
(so that it matches the Paragraph setting outside the table)
the right end of the Text then aligns with the Decimal Tab (1.5),
restoring the .25 Left Tab restores the Text alignment to the Paragraph
Indentation (.25).

Outside the table, the .25 Left Tab Setting is NOT REQUIRED in order to
maintain the Text alignment with the Paragraph Indentation.

Word 2007 PC XP

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

As you've seen, decimal tab stops do behave differently inside tables. If
you have *only* a decimal tab stop, then no tab character is required.
Left-aligned text will automatically align at the tab stop without a tab
character. If you introduce any other tab stops in the paragraph, then you
have to use tab characters for both tab stops. It would appear that this
peculiarity also applies to left indents.

There's probably some sort of logic here. When you insert a decimal tab stop
in a table cell, Word assumes that you want all the text aligned with that
tab stop, so it doesn't make you use a tab character. But if you complicate
the issue by introducing other tab stops (or indents) then Word needs more
explicit instruction. I can see that it would need a tab character between
left-aligned text (at the indent) and the decimal aligned text; I'm not sure
why it would need a tab stop to reinforce that indent, but it demonstrably
does, so I guess you just have to accept this as one of Word's little
mysteries.

 

[Samuel Sunsmith]

Thanks Suzanne!

I was thinking that was the situation, one of the little joys of Word!