Tabulations and their stops

The same tabulated rows under each of the three methods, then a contents block whose dots run out to a stop on the right. A tabulation can step on from wherever the text stopped, land on the regular grid of a typewriter, or aim at a stop of its own, on which the text that follows starts, centres, or lines up by its decimal point.

Three ways of answering a tabulation, shown on the same rows so the difference is visible rather than described. The first steps on from wherever the text stopped, so its columns never line up. The second, the typewriter's, steps to the next multiple of a fixed size, so they do.

The third is a ruler: each tabulation aims at a stop of its own, and the text that follows starts on that stop, is centred over it, or is lined up on its decimal point — which is how a column of figures aligns on the point rather than on the last digit. A grey line is drawn at every stop, so the text can be seen landing on it.

What this example shows

• Stepped, typewriter-grid and chosen tab stops, side by side.
• Text set on a stop, centred over it, or lined up on the decimal point.
• A row of dots running out to a stop on the right, as in a contents page.

The code, in full

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The document itself

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