Prev: Notes Page Master problem
Next: Animating Visio Objects in PowerPoint
From: E.T.F. on 7 May 2010 09:40
Hello Colleagues,

Is it possible to "anchor" decimals in a column of numbers in a text box so
all of the decimals in the rows are in perfect alignment? For instance,
consider the text below as the contents of a PowerPoint text box:

$13.5 Volume
(2.1) Mix
4.4 Diversions

I seek to have the decimals in vertical alignment in the three rows. Using
leading spaces doesn't work so well because with proportional fonts, the
parenthesis are a different width than the numerals. Tabs are worse because
some of the rows do not have the same number of characters before the decimal.

Years ago WordPerfect had a decimal alignment feature, but of course that
doesn't help in PowerPoint. Thanks for reading this question.
From: Mark on 7 May 2010 10:09
On May 7, 9:40 am, E.T.F. <E...(a)discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> Hello Colleagues,
>
> Is it possible to "anchor" decimals in a column of numbers in a text box so
> all of the decimals in the rows are in perfect alignment?  For instance,
> consider the text below as the contents of a PowerPoint text box:
>
> $13.5   Volume
> (2.1)  Mix
> 4.4  Diversions
>
> I seek to have the decimals in vertical alignment in the three rows.  Using
> leading spaces doesn't work so well because with proportional fonts, the
> parenthesis are a different width than the numerals.  Tabs are worse because
> some of the rows do not have the same number of characters before the decimal.
>
> Years ago WordPerfect had a decimal alignment feature, but of course that
> doesn't help in PowerPoint.  Thanks for reading this question.

Under the Paragraph settings, click on the "Tabs" button, and set up a
decimal tab where you want the decimals to line up. Then insert a tab
in the line before the text you want to line up. If it's the first
character of the line, you may have to either paste in the tab
character, or use an insert to keep PPT from indenting the text to the
next level. You could also insert a space, then a tab, then delete the
space to force PPT to accept the tab character instead of indenting.
From: Steve Rindsberg on 7 May 2010 11:44
In article <10B5AFEB-0B0D-4695-8810-C7F8FCA980E1(a)microsoft.com>, E.T.F. wrote:
> Hello Colleagues,
>
> Is it possible to "anchor" decimals in a column of numbers in a text box so
> all of the decimals in the rows are in perfect alignment? For instance,
> consider the text below as the contents of a PowerPoint text box:
>
> $13.5 Volume
> (2.1) Mix
> 4.4 Diversions
>
> I seek to have the decimals in vertical alignment in the three rows. Using
> leading spaces doesn't work so well because with proportional fonts, the
> parenthesis are a different width than the numerals. Tabs are worse because
> some of the rows do not have the same number of characters before the decimal.
>
> Years ago WordPerfect had a decimal alignment feature, but of course that
> doesn't help in PowerPoint. Thanks for reading this question.

PowerPoint has decimal tabs. They do work a bit differently depending on which
version you have (it's always a good idea to mention version when asking
questions about any software).

The tab settings you're after are not the same as the indent settings ... that
may be part of the confusion.

Assuming PPT 2007 or later, select the text paragraphs you want the tab settings
to apply to.

At the upper left side of the slide pane there's a little box with what looks
like an L in it. Click that a couple of times. It turns from an L into a
backward L (right tab), then an inverted T (center tab) and finally an inverted
T with a dot (BINGO, yer DECIMAL TAB).

Now click on the ruler where you want decimal tabs to appear.

Earlier versions are similar, but you can only have one set of tabs/indents per
text box; with 2007 it's per paragraph.

Start there, mess about with it and you'll get the hang of how it works.

Decimal tabs in in tables is a whole nother issue.


==============================
PPT Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.pptfaq.com/

PPTools add-ins for PowerPoint
http://www.pptools.com/


 | 
Pages: 1
Prev: Notes Page Master problem
Next: Animating Visio Objects in PowerPoint