Set and repeat tabs

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn how to position text at specific horizontal locations and create repeated tab patterns in Adobe InDesign.

Tabs let you align text at specific horizontal locations within a frame, making it easy to create clean columns and structured layouts. Setting a tab deletes all default tab stops before it. View your document in Layout View to see the actual spacing created by tabs.

Set tabs for text alignment

Select the Type tool to place an insertion point in the paragraph where you want to set tabs.

Press Tab where you want to add horizontal space. You can also add tabs after creating your tab settings.

Select Type > Tabs to open the Tabs dialog box.

Select the paragraph or group of paragraphs you want to affect.

Select a tab-alignment button in the Tabs dialog box: left, right, center, or decimal.

Select a location on the tab ruler to position the new tab.

Tabs dialog box in InDesign showing a 2-inch X value, with the corresponding tabbed text highlighted. — Select the desired alignment button and set the position on the ruler to create additional tabs.

Tip

To adjust the tab value by 1 point, press the up or down arrow key while the X value is selected.

Create repeated tabs at equal intervals

Place an insertion point in the paragraph.

In the Tabs dialog box, select a tab stop on the ruler.

Select Repeat Tab from the panel menu .

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