Re: [libreoffice-users] Tabs in selection of text

On 4/7/19 12:55 PM, Brian Barker wrote:

> At 20:37 03/04/2019 -0400, Carl Paulsen wrote:
> > I have a number of "paragraphs" of text (job listing section of a 
> > resume) for which I'd like to add tab stops.
>
> Are these true paragraphs? I'm not sure why you have given the word 
> scare quotes. If they are not true paragraphs, what you with tab stops 
> may not behave as you expect.


Ummmm.  What's the definition of a true paragraph, in particular as 
distinct from, say, a line in a bulleted list, and why does that 
matter?  I simply want to take lines of text and apply some tab stops to 
it (the full set of text prior to the next carriage return, whether a 
paragraph or lines of bulleted text or whatever).  These will be left 
justified tab stops.  Simple enough I thought.


> > I select the lines and click the tab stop I want, then click in the 
> > ruler, but nothing happens.
>
> "Lines" are not really a word processing concept, as text reflows 
> automatically as you edit it. Tab stops are applied to paragraphs. Are 
> you clicking in the *horizontal* ruler, above the text window? 
> Incidentally, are you simply missing how tab stops work? They do 
> nothing by themselves: you need also to insert tab *characters* (or 
> other formatting) into your text to control how the tab stops take 
> effect.

I select the lines of text to which I want to apply the tab stops.  I 
click on the tab stop box in the upper left of the document to select 
which type of tab I want, then click in the horizontal ruler where I 
want that tab to go.  Nothing happens. No tab stop.  I most definitely 
MUST be missing how tab stops work, hence why I posted.  But in every 
other program I've used it works similarly to how I describe.


> > I see no menu item to format tabs, though I did stumble into one 
> > dialog box with Tabs that required manual setting and it was unclear 
> > just where those tabs would be applied.
>
> Tabs are a paragraph property as well as a paragraph style property:
> o For paragraph formatting, go to Format | Paragraph... | Tabs (or 
> right-click | Paragraph... | Tabs).
> o For paragraph style formatting, go to Format | Styles and 
> Formatting... | right-click style | Modify... | Tabs (or right-click | 
> Edit Paragraph Style... | Tabs).

That's what's odd.  In the lines of text I want to apply the tabs, there 
is no Tab option in Format | Paragraph.  Again, hence my question.  I do 
wish I could just set tabs in the ruler as at times I want to apply the 
tabs, look at the  result, and make adjustments.  Requiring manual tab 
setting makes that process much more cumbersome.


> > In the help document 
> > (https://help.libreoffice.org/Common/Inserting_and_Editing_Tab_Stops) 
> >  it says for changing one or more paragraphs: "Select the paragraphs, 
> > then click inside the ruler."
> > That is most definitely not working.
> So what exactly happens when you try? Do you not see a tab stop in the 
> ruler?

Exactly.


Carl



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