When you press the Tab key (or Option-Tab if you're working in a table cell), the insertion point (and any text to the right of it) moves to the next tab stop, and any new text you type begins at that point. By default, tab stops occur every five spaces, but you can set your own tab stops using the tab stop symbols in the horizontal ruler. Use the ruler also to set text margins, indentation for the first line in a paragraph, and bullet indentation as well.
To see the tab stop and indentation symbols in the horizontal ruler, make sure the ruler is showing and you have some text selected on the slide. You can set up the ruler to display the units you want in Ruler preferences.
The symbols are very small blue shapes in the horizontal ruler. There are several types, each indicating a different alignemnt:
Right-facing triangle: Aligns the left side of text with the tab stop.
Left-facing triangle: Aligns the right side of text with the tab stop.
Diamond: Places the center of text at the tab stop.
Circle: For numbers, aligns the decimal character (such as a period or comma) with the tab stop.
Down-facing triangle: Sets left and right text indentation for the currently selected paragraph.
Narrow rectangle: Sets the first-line indent (hanging indent) for the currently selected paragraph.
Tiny square: Sets the bullet (or number) indent for the currently selected paragraph.
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Choose View > Show Rulers to make the horizontal ruler appear.
Place the insertion point in any text to see the small blue tab stop symbols for the current paragraph.
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To change the units of measure in the rulers, choose Keynote > Preferences, click Rulers, and choose an item from the Ruler Units pop-up menu:
To display measurements as a percentage of the distance across the page, choose Keynote > Preferences, click Rulers, and then select “Display ruler units as percentage.”
To place the ruler's horizontal origin point at the center of the page, choose Keynote > Preferences, click Rulers, and then select “Place origin at center of ruler.”
When you change ruler settings in Keynote preferences, the new settings apply to all documents viewed in Keynote until you change the settings again.
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To move a tab stop, drag its symbol along the ruler.
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To add a new tab stop, click the ruler in the position where you want the new tab stop to be.
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To change the tab to a different alignment type, double-click its symbol repeatedly until the type you want appears, or hold down the Control key as you click the tab symbol, and select an option from the shortcut menu.
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To remove a tab stop, drag its symbol off the ruler.
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To set the indentation of the paragraph’s first line, drag the narrow rectangular symbol along the ruler.
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To change the right paragraph indent, drag the right indent symbol (downward blue triangle on the right side of the horizontal ruler) to the position where you want the right edge of the paragraph to end.
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To change the left indent, drag the left indent symbol (downward blue triangle on the left side of the ruler) to where you want the left edge of the paragraph to begin.
Drag the small blue square along the ruler.