Using Leader Tabs or Dot Leaders

Did you ever have trouble visually lining up information in two columns when there was nothing but blank space between the columns? Dot leaders to the rescue. Also called tab leaders or leader tabs, these row of dots help lead the reader from one bit of information to another across a page. You'll commonly find dot leaders used in a table of contents, an index, or a price list. Leaders may be square or round dots with varied spacing, dashes, lines, or other character combinations.

Creating Leaders
In most programs leaders are a formatting option set when setting up tabs. The size or appearance of the leaders can usually be adjusted by adjusting the font size or applying specific paragraph styles.