---
title: "textTab(forGlyphLocation:writingDirection:maxLocation:)"
framework: appkit
role: symbol
role_heading: Instance Method
path: "appkit/nstypesetter/texttab(forglyphlocation:writingdirection:maxlocation:)"
---

# textTab(forGlyphLocation:writingDirection:maxLocation:)

Returns the text tab next closest to a given glyph location within the given parameters.

## Declaration

```swift
func textTab(forGlyphLocation glyphLocation: CGFloat, writingDirection direction: NSWritingDirection, maxLocation: CGFloat) -> NSTextTab?
```

## Parameters

- `glyphLocation`: The location at which to start searching.
- `direction`: The direction in which to search.
- `maxLocation`: The maximum location for the search.

## Return Value

Return Value The text tab next closest to glyphLocation, indexing in direction but not beyond maxLocation.

## Discussion

Discussion The typesetter calls this method whenever it finds a tab character. To determine the width to advance the next glyph, the typesetter examines the NSParagraphStyle object’s tab array and the default tab interval.