Center

Updated: 12/31/2020 by Computer Hope
Two lines intersecting at the center of a circle.

Alternatively known as middle or centre, the center is the position that's horizontally or vertically aligned with the middle of an object. In computing, the term "center" often describes text horizontally in the middle of a line or container. However, "middle" may describe text in the middle of a page both horizontally and vertically. The following example shows text that is centered horizontally in its container.

Example of Centered Text

Tip

When text is highlighted, the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E can be used in many text editors, word processors, and spreadsheets to center text.

How to center in a text file

Note

With a plain text file, you cannot center text because plain text files cannot be formatted.

When editing a rich text file in Microsoft Word or another rich text editor, you can usually center text using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E. You may also click the center alignment icon, as shown in the picture.

Microsoft Word toolbar with center

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