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Word 2016 TOC Format Inconsistent

Anonymous
2016-10-19T20:56:58+00:00

The beginning position of tab leaders (...) in my Table of Contents is inconsistent.  Some of the tab leaders begin immediately following the text/heading.  With some there is a gap of several spaces before the leader begins.  All content formatting in the document is consistent.  How can I correct this?

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Anonymous
2016-10-25T13:06:14+00:00

Thank you all for the suggestions.  I appreciate your prompt responses to my question!

I finally got it!  :)  The hanging indent in the TOC is what was causing the issue.  Even though the hanging indent was identical in all lines, by moving it in the lines where the tab leaders were inconsistent - problem fixed! 

Laurie

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  1. Stefan Blom 342.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2016-10-19T22:33:52+00:00

    Make sure that there is a tab stop with a leader defined at the position of the right margin. If the headings are numbered, also make sure that you have a tab stop at the correct position for the text following the paragraph number (otherwise Word will add one on its own). Repeat for each TOC level/TOC style.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-10-20T15:04:14+00:00

    Thanks Doug.  I've checked, and double checked the formatting and it doesn't appear that the content/body of the document has any extra spaces!

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-10-20T15:02:28+00:00

    Thank you Stefan.  The tab stops in my document are positioned as you've shown in the screen shot.  However, there appears to be additional tab stops in some entries.  Yet, when I check the formatting those extra tab stops are not showing!  Please see my screen shot below.  Any other suggestions are much appreciated!

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  4. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2016-10-19T22:48:59+00:00

    That will occur if you have superfluous spaces after the text of the heading in the body of the document.

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