Clearing All Tabs in a Document

Summary: Need to get rid of all the tab stops in a particular document? It's easy to do when you apply the technique outlined in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

If you received a document from someone else, you may be charged with the responsibility to format the document. One of the first steps you may want to take is to remove all the tab stops in the document, thereby returning all paragraphs to their "pristine" state where only default tabs are in place.

If you want to remove all the tabs stops in a document, the quick way is to follow these steps:

Press Ctrl+A. This shortcut selects the entire document.
Display the Tabs dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.) In Word 2007, display the Home tab of the ribbon, click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Paragraph group, and then click the Tabs button. In previous versions of Word select the Tabs option from the Format menu.
Click on the Clear All button.
Click on OK.

That's it. You can now go through the document, on a paragraph-by-paragraph basis, and set any tab stops desired.

Tip #1427 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Clearing All Tabs in a Document