WHY DON'T MY #'S LINE UP EVEN WHEN USING DECIMAL TAB??

[mj]

when I am typing Financial Statements I use Decimal Tabs but even then all
the figures don't line up evenly - I often have to go back in and either add
or delete spaces. How can I correct this problem?

 

[Lene Fredborg]

A decimal tab stop aligns numbers on the first non-numeric character -
however, _not_ on the character set up on your computer as the thousands
separator.

Example:
Comma is set up as the decimal separator and period is set up as the
thousands separator. Using a decimal tab, the number 12,34 can be aligned on
the comma but the number 12.34 cannot be aligned on the period.
Could that be the problem with your numbers?

You can see/modify the settings via Control Panel > International and
Language settings > International Settings tab > Modify button (I hope the
labels are correct – translated from a Danish system).

See:
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/SettingTabs.htm
http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/NumberAlignment.htm

--
Regards
Lene Fredborg
DocTools - Denmark
www.thedoctools.com
Document automation - add-ins, macros and templates for Microsoft Word

 

[Jay Sezner]

What if I'm working in Switzerland and dealing with various decimal
separators?
Is there any way to deal with this?
For example, in the same document I would like to list numbers in two
different languages, say German and English AND use the decimal tab stop so
that both blocks line up (on the decimal point):

In German:
932,05
43,899
4564,7890

In English:
932.05
43.899
4564.7890

Why can't I simply define the separator differently for each line of text in
the "Tabs" dialog box? I suppose I could just add zeros on the end of each
line of figures and use a right tab, but isn't that sort of defeating the
purpose of the decimal tab?

Thanks for any insight on this!
Jay

p.s. I've just resolved this using dingbat character "25A0" and reduced the
font size until it looks just like a period. What a crazy workaround!

 

[Cindy M.]

Hi Jay,

Problem is that Word pulls this information from the Windows Regional Settings.
It can work with only one set of separators. That's how it was designed, as
much as we (the users in the real world) may not agree with it.

What if I'm working in Switzerland and dealing with various decimal
separators?
Is there any way to deal with this?
For example, in the same document I would like to list numbers in two
different languages, say German and English AND use the decimal tab stop so
that both blocks line up (on the decimal point):

In German:
932,05
43,899
4564,7890

In English:
932.05
43.899
4564.7890

Why can't I simply define the separator differently for each line of text in
the "Tabs" dialog box? I suppose I could just add zeros on the end of each
line of figures and use a right tab, but isn't that sort of defeating the
purpose of the decimal tab?

Thanks for any insight on this!
Jay

p.s. I've just resolved this using dingbat character "25A0" and reduced the
font size until it looks just like a period. What a crazy workaround!

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 17 2005)
http://www.word.mvps.org

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