Create a tab set from the tab stops
import java.util.ArrayList; import java.util.List; import javax.swing.JTextPane; import javax.swing.text.Style; import javax.swing.text.StyleConstants; import javax.swing.text.TabSet; import javax.swing.text.TabStop; public class Main { public static void main(String[] argv) { JTextPane textPane = new JTextPane(); List list = new ArrayList(); TabStop[] tstops = (TabStop[]) list.toArray(new TabStop[0]); TabSet tabs = new TabSet(tstops); Style style = textPane.getLogicalStyle(); StyleConstants.setTabSet(style, tabs); textPane.setLogicalStyle(style); } }