Changing default tabs in one paragraph changes all tabs

In a large Word 2003 document, I'm trying to change the default tabs for one
paragraph, or a selection of paragraphs, by selecting them, then going to
Format: Tabs: Default Tab stops and changing them from .25" to .5". The
result is that the tabs in the entire document change from .25" to .5". I
haven't noticed this behaviour before. Is there some other formatting that
could interfere with the tab setting change? Is there any other way to
change the tabs besides manually entering tabs for paragraphs in which I
don't want to use the default tabs?

You are changing the default tab interval, which is application-wide. What
you need to do instead is set specific tabs for a given paragraph or style.
See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/SettingTabs.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"sjnet" wrote in message
...
In a large Word 2003 document, I'm trying to change the default tabs for
one
paragraph, or a selection of paragraphs, by selecting them, then going to
Format: Tabs: Default Tab stops and changing them from .25" to .5". The
result is that the tabs in the entire document change from .25" to .5". I
haven't noticed this behaviour before. Is there some other formatting
that
could interfere with the tab setting change? Is there any other way to
change the tabs besides manually entering tabs for paragraphs in which I
don't want to use the default tabs?