Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 22, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
There may be times when you don't want to clear all the tab stops in your document—you only want to clear a few of them. To clear individual tab stops for a paragraph, follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Tabs dialog box.
If you have the ruler displayed on-screen, then you can also delete tabs by following these steps:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (246) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Deleting Tab Stops.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
Aligning different lines in your document is easy. Using the tab stops feature in Word, you can set four different types ...
Discover MoreIf you don't explicitly set tab stops in a paragraph, Word relies upon a default tab stop distance. You can adjust that ...
Discover MoreMost people use the mouse to set tab stops in the paragraphs in a table. If you prefer to not use the mouse, then you'll ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments