Insert a tab within a table cell in Microsoft Word

I just lost 20 minutes trying to line up a list of numbers inside a table cell in Word. The problem was that clicking “tab” only caused the cursor to jump, usually outside the table entirely, but sometimes to the next cell.

The help files were mute on the subject, except to imply that it was the keyboard shortcuts settings in OS X’s System Preferences that were at fault. I tried other key combinations but did not hit on the right one.

The correct key combination for inserting a tab into text within a table cell is “Control-tab”.

Thanks to Projectwoman for this solution.