using Leader option under Format-Tabs

[Paul]

Hi,

I am trying to use the Leader option in Word to create a
table of contents with dots placed between my titles and
page numbers. However, adjusting the options in
the 'leader' menu box seems to do nothing when I highlight
existing text, or highlight an area and then place text
within that area.

Any help is appreciated.

-Paul

[Tonya Marshall]

First, are you generating a TOC by using styles or are you laboriously
creating one manually?
Let us know which version of Word you are using.
When you set up a TOC by using Styles the option for using a dot leader
is in the TOC dialog.
When you make it manually, select all of the text, Format/Tabs and
select the tab you want to have a dot leader. Choose the leader you want
and click the Set button.

--
Tonya Marshall
tonz AT harborside DOT com

[anon...@discussions.microsoft.com]

>.
>

Thank you for your reply Tonya.

My version is Word 2002 (SP-2) and I guess I am doing it
manually because I cannot find the Styles menu you are
referring to.

Using it manually, I tried pressing Set like you suggested
but still do not find it does anything. Does it not work
like Formatting between Justified, or Left Aligned, for
example? I assume I shouldn't be typing the dots manually
but don't see how else to do it yet.

Sorry, it must be pretty simple but I have not gotten very
far with this yet.

Cheers,

Paul

[Tonya Marshall]

Press F1 for help, then type: "Set tab stops"(omit quote symbols) in the
Search box.. Perhaps this will give you a better understanding of what
you are trying to do.

[Jay Freedman]

Hi, Paul,

What Tonya was trying to point you toward is Word's ability to build
an automatic table of contents, by using the Insert > Index and Tables
dialog (in Word 2002 and later, Insert > Reference > Index and
Tables).

When you use that dialog, you can choose the type of leader, and that
choice will automatically be applied to all the entries.

For some more information, see
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/formatting/TOCSwitches.htm.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://www.mvps.org/word

[Dayo Mitchell]

Hi Paul,

Re Tonya's first answer, did you highlight a tab number in the left hand box
to tell Word which tab to format with the leader, before clicking Set?

Re a manual TOC and the tabs, try this:

You need to set an actual tab to be formatted with the leader. If you just
change the leader options, it still won't apply to the default tabs. Try
selecting the space before you enter the content, go to Format| Tabs, clear
all tabs, then set a right tab at 6" with a dotted leader (enter 6 in the
upper left box for tab stop position, click the button for dotted leader,
click OK). Then type the title, hit tab (should leap you to the right
margin with dots), type the page number. You can drag the right tab on the
ruler to get it exactly where you want it. Is that what you were looking
for?

Practice on a copy, since I told you to clear all tabs.

DM

[Tonya Marshall]

Also, here's a link to an MSKB article about generating a TOC using styles:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;291280

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

All the others (Tonya, Jay, Dayo) have given you a lot of tips. For more on
creating TOCs automatically, see
http://www.ShaunaKelly.com/word/toc/CreateATOC.html. For more on setting tab
stops with leaders, see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/SettingTabs.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.word.mvps.org
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