# Hypertext Help with LaTeX
tabbing

     \begin{tabbing}
     text \= more text \= still more text \= last text \\
     second row \>  \> more \\
     ....
     ....
     \end{tabbing}

The tabbing environment provides a way to align text in columns. It works by setting tab stops and tabbing to them much the way you do with an ordinary typewriter.

The tabular environment also aligns text in columns, but there are several important differences.

- The tabular environment can be used in any mode whereas the tabbing environment can be used only in paragraph mode and it starts a new paragraph.

- The tabular environment generates a box, which LaTeX treats as one (albeit very large) letter; it cannot be split across pages. A long tabbing environment can be split across pages.

- The width of columns in a tabular environment is determined automatically by LaTeX; in the tabbing environment this is done by setting tab stops.

## Tabbing commands

- `\=` (set tab)
- `\>` (advance to next tab stop)
- `\<`
- `\+` (indent; move margin right)
- `\-` (unindent; move margin left)
- `\'`
- `\``
- `\\` (end of line; newline)
- `\kill` (ignore preceding text; use only for spacing)

The `\hspace` command is useful for controlling horizontal space in the tabbing environment.

Note that the commands `\=`, `\'`, and `\`` normally produce accents over the subsequent letter. These commands are redefined in the tabbing environment; in this environment it is possible to get the accents by using `\a=`, `\a'`, and `\a``, respectively.

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