How to change tabs from 0.5" to 0.1875"

[ILikeCommas]

I’ve done it before: changed tabs from 0.5" to 0.25", but since the last update the way I used to do it (open document, pull Left Tab mark to the desired location on ruler, profit) no longer works.

I need to change it, export the document as a .pdf, and be on my merry way. A permanent change would be amazing, but the 113,000+ word document is complete, contains block quotes, a timeline and glossary: long story short not sure how to make a style that changes only the tabs for the entire document, but none of the ways I’ve tried so far work.

[RGB-es]

Tools → Options → LibreOffice Writer → General will change the default tab stops. It’s also possible to set tab stops specifically for each paragraph style on the Tabs section of that style definition.

[ILikeCommas]

Do it manually: once you get a few hundred of them in, the program will finally get the idea and change the rest for you.

[ajlittoz]

This suggests you didn’t use the style feature to its full potential, relying only on default tab instead of defining specific positions in the paragraph styles which really need it. It may even suggest you didn’t define enough ad hoc paragraph styles corresponding to your different use cases.

With an adapted style set, you only to change a few of them to reformat the whole document. Read the style chapters in the guide.