Decimal Tab and alignment

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ylshin
New to all this
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:43 am

Decimal Tab and alignment

Post by ylshin »

I am sorry if this was asked before. I have gone through the user guide and the posts in this forum but am still mystified.
I set the full stop as the default decimal alignment character and then inserted the decimal tab onto the ruler.
Each time I inserted tabs until I reach the decimal tab and typed in numbers, they seemed to be not exactly aligned.
If the number is more the hundreds, ie 4 digits before the decimal point, they move to the right and not aligning.
The thousand comma (,) marking is totally ignored. I am a number cruncher and therefore need to type in figures in excess of thousands.
I changed my font to something mono but still cannot get my numbers to align.
What steps have I missed out? Any advice gratefully appreciated.
DavidH
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 121
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:13 pm

Re: Decimal Tab and alignment

Post by DavidH »

I’m not sure what you mean by “ignoring” the comma. Mellel is a word processor, not a spreadsheet. It doesn’t automatically format numbers, so it won’t automatically add a comma after the the thousands place of a number large enough to call for one. You’ll have to physically type any commas or currency signs the numbers you’re dealing with are going to need.

A decimal tab will only work as expected if there is enough room for all the whole number digits of the number you’re trying to type to the left of the decimal tab and to the right of the previous tab on your ruler. That previous tab may well be one Mellel put on the ruler by default, one you are accustomed to “tabbing past.” If the whole number part of your number gets too big to fit in the available space, that will push the entirety of your number to the next regular tab AFTER the decimal tab, which might account for the “move to the right” you’re reporting. Leave enough room, if necessary by deleting one or more regular tabs to the left of the decimal tab on the ruler associated with the Paragraph Style you plan to use, and the jumping you complain of should go away.

You won’t really get the kind of alignment you want, however, with digits aligned with digits and commas aligned with commas, unless you’re using a monospace font or a proportional font that includes “lining figures,” a set of digits specially designed to be all the same width. If you’re using an OpenType font there will usually be an OpenType Feature providing such figures that you can set in the Character Attributes panel and add to the Character Style you plan to use. The exact name of this feature may vary from font to font.
ylshin
New to all this
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 03, 2017 5:43 am

Re: Decimal Tab and alignment

Post by ylshin »

You are absolutely correct. I am still experimenting with Mellel to get a better understanding of it before I jump in using it to do my projects. I have therefore not removed any of the default tabs to the left of the decimal tab, not realising it has an impact on the formatting of the numbers inserted. Just before logging into the forum, I had another go at the problem by first removing all the regular tabs and then just inserted one decimal tab. All numbers aligned properly. I did insert regular tabs to the left of the decimal tab and discovered that it is indeed the cause for the non-alignment. The commas were the thousand markers that I typed in, and they were not a problem.
Thanks for your input.
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