Leader
Leader may refer to any of the following:
1. A leader is a person who inspires other workers. See our boss term for further information and examples on this term.
2. A leader is a symbol that keeps the reader on the same line. For example, the contents or index of a book have periods as a leader to help determine the location of a particular section.
Why is a leader needed?
A leader is not always required. However, if there is too much space between two sections of text, a leader helps prevent frustration. For example, if a book's chapters have too much space between the chapter and page number, it's difficult to determine each chapter's page number without a leader.
What is a tab leader?
A tab leader is repeated characters that fill a tab stop, such as a row of hyphens or periods.
Example of a leader
The following is an example of lines using multiple periods as a leader.
Computer Hope home............computerhope.com
Computer help.................computerhope.com/help
Computer dictionary...........computerhope.com/jargon.htm
Computer tips.................computerhope.com/tips
As seen above, it's easier for your eyes to follow lines with leaders, instead of the example below with no leader.
Computer Hope home computerhope.com
Computer help computerhope.com/help
Computer dictionary computerhope.com/jargon.htm
Computer tips computerhope.com/tips
3. With a tape drive, a leader is a blank section of tape that precedes recorded information.