Repeat tabs spacing

Forum|Forum|7 days ago
September 16, 2026
4 replies
61 views

Hello,

“Repeat Tab” does not seem to do what it is supposed to. Text indent is 0. I set the first tab stop at 0.25in, then instead of getting tab stops every 0.25in (0.5, 0.75, 1, etc.), I get something else, including a tab before 0.25in. Is there something I am doing wrong or a workaround?

This is for CS4.

Thanks.

Correct answer Monika Gause

Thank you. I can reproduce that in the latest version. It sets the first automatic tabstop *somewhere* and then the following ones in the expected distance. Looks like a bug to me. But even if it gets fixed, it will not be in version CS4.

I could get a somewhat better result when I set 2 tabstops in the way I wanted, then selected the first one and repeated that. But then Illustrator moved my second tabstop by 0.3 mm before setting the following ones in the desired distance.

Monika Gause

Correct answer

Community Expert

Thank you. I can reproduce that in the latest version. It sets the first automatic tabstop *somewhere* and then the following ones in the expected distance. Looks like a bug to me. But even if it gets fixed, it will not be in version CS4.

I could get a somewhat better result when I set 2 tabstops in the way I wanted, then selected the first one and repeated that. But then Illustrator moved my second tabstop by 0.3 mm before setting the following ones in the desired distance.

S

sPretzelAuthor

Inspiring

Hi Monika,

I expected this bug to still be in the latest version of Illustrator, decades later! Adobe is more focused on the bottom line than improving their product.

I also tried using another tab stop as the starting point, instead of the left indent, but it was still a mess. Repeat Tab works as expected in InDesign however.

Thanks for always staying on top of this forum and providing useful answers.

Monika Gause

Community Expert

Can you please show screenshots?

S

sPretzelAuthor

Inspiring

Hello Monika,

I’ve attached two files. The first, I have some text with a tab between each word and set the first tab at 0.5in. The second, with the first tab stop selected, I click on Repeat Tab in the menu of the TABS panel. And this is what I get! I expect tabs at every 0.5in, not this.

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