.. .......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.<
_
TAB stops are set at every eighth character and shown as asterisks. Like any other characters in the ruler, they can be changed. There is, for example, no reason why a ruler should be constructed with all the TABs at one end, like this:
.. ...*...*...*...*.................................................b.......<
_
(The b causes a bleep, just like the bell on a typewriter, except that VIEW allows you to place it wherever you like, and it has no connection necessarily with margins.)
The two dots in the left margin are a signal that this line is a ruler, whatever other characters happen to be on the line.
Try some TABs for yourself. Call up a default ruler and reset the TABs on it as you wish, by typing in more asterisks or cancelling those that are there already with dots. Then move the cursor to the line below the ruler and use the TAB key before you type text. You will find that so far VIEW behaves in much the same way as a normal typewriter.
.. .......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.<
TextTextTextTextText TextTextTextTextText TextTextTextTextText TextTextTextTextText
Now put the cursor back at the beginning of the line again, and press DELETE CHARACTER (function key f9 ).
A surprising thing happens - surprising to those who are only used to typewriters. The whole of the tabbing is cancelled, and the text shoots right back to the cursor position.
You can produce much the same effect by typing and tabbing as before, then instead of returning the cursor to the beginning of the line, press the black DELETE key on the lower part of the keyboard.
TAB characters vary in length according to the TAB settings on the current ruler, and they can be altered, even after a tabbed line has been typed, by altering the ruler.
For example, if your ruler is like this:
.. .......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.<
and you type in
JONES, Abel Baker
The art and science of word processing
Oxford University Press
March 1984
you will have used no TAB in the first line, one in the second, two in the third, and three in the last.
If you then change the TAB spacings on the ruler and move the cursor down again, the TAB characters instantly change and the text jumps to the new spacing.
.. ...*...*...*...*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.......*.<
JONES, Abel Baker
The art and science of word processing
Oxford University Press
March 1984
The text behaves in this way because the size of the TAB characters has been changed by the resetting of the TAB stops on the ruler.
If you wish to work with TABs a good deal you should study the relevant pages of the GUIDE.
Since we need the ruler to align and format all text, how can we produce a layout like that?
The answer is to type the text first and the headings afterwards, like this.
.. .............>..........................< The left margin is set towards the middle of the page to leave room for headings and notes at the sides. The next can be justified or not as required and TABs can be set as usual.
.. ..............>..........................<
SIDE HEADINGS The left margin is set NOTES AND TYPED towards the middle of the REFERENCES HERE page to leave room for TYPED HERE headings and notes at the sides. The next can be justified or not as required and TABs can be set as usual.
Note: If you are using the method described here, always format your text before placing the headings and notes. If you try to format it afterwards, VIEW will assume that you want everything in the lines concerned included in the formatting, so all your headings will be collapsed into the text and you will have to start again!
Suppose you have a line with a TAB in it which you format - with FORMAT BLOCK, global format, or the formatting that occurs when you reach the end of a justified line. In such a case VIEW treats the TAB as a space, and so will redistribute spaces in the line to accommodate the TAB. Naturally this would ruin any tabular layout.
The easiest way to prevent this from happening is to start each line of your table with a single TAB, or with one or more spaces. This acts as a signal to VIEW and it will not disturb the table.
If you want the table to line up with the left margin the simplest method is to place a ruler above the table with no right margin stop on it. This prevents formatting and protects the table.
These methods are described in more detail in chapter 12.