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Align Paragraphs in Word- Instructions

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Align Paragraphs in Word: Video Lesson

            This video lesson, titled “Aligning Paragraphs,” shows you how to align paragraphs in Word. This video lesson is from our complete Word tutorial, titled “Mastering Word Made Easy v.2019 and 365.”

Align Paragraphs in Word: Overview

            You have several choices on how to align paragraphs in Word. Alignment refers to the appearance of the left and right sides of the paragraph. By default, Word aligns paragraphs to the left. You can change this alignment, so the right sides are symmetrical. This is called right alignment. You can also align them, so the lines are centered with even space on both sides. This is called center alignment.

            A justified paragraph alignment aligns both the left and right sides. With justified paragraphs, the last line is never truly justified by default, as it tends to look odd. However, to force the last line to be truly justified, put the cursor at the end of the last line in a justified paragraph and then press the “Shift” + “Enter” keys on your keyboard.

            To align paragraphs in Word, click into the paragraph whose alignment you want to set. Alternatively, click and drag over multiple paragraphs to select them. Then click the “Home” tab in the Ribbon and look within the “Paragraph” button group to find the paragraph alignment buttons, among other paragraph options. If you hold your mouse pointer over any of the alignment buttons, its name appears in a screen tip to help you learn which type of alignment corresponds to which button. They are, from left to right, “Align Left,” “Center,” “Align Right,” and “Justify.”

Align Paragraphs in Word - Instructions: A picture of a user applying the “Justify” paragraph alignment in Word.

Align Paragraphs in Word – Instructions: A picture of a user applying the “Justify” paragraph alignment in Word.

            Paragraph alignment in Word is like other font formatting techniques in that you may set it before writing the text or after it is written. So, can click the paragraph alignment button to set the alignment and then type the text or type the paragraph. Alternatively, you can select it or click into it, and then press the corresponding paragraph alignment button to apply it.

Align Paragraphs in Word: Instructions

  1. To align paragraphs in Word, click into the paragraph whose alignment you want to set or click and drag over multiple paragraphs to select them.
  2. Alternatively, set the paragraph alignment before you start typing into your document.
  3. Then click the “Home” tab in the Ribbon.
  4. Then click either the “Align Left,” “Center,” “Align Right,” or “Justify” button in the “Paragraph” button group to set the desired paragraph alignment.
  5. If desired, to force the justification of the last line of a “Justified” paragraph, click to place the insertion mark cursor at the end of the last line of the paragraph.
  6. Then press the “Shift” + “Enter” keys on your keyboard.
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