Alignment
Alignment may refer to any of the following:
1. Align or alignment describes how text is placed on the screen. For example, left-aligned text creates a straight line of text on the left side of the page (like this paragraph). Text can be aligned along the edge of a page, cell, div, table, or another visible or non-visible line. Below are examples of aligned text.
When aligning or positioning text, never press spacebar several times. Using this method to position text on a page causes many problems. The text should be positioned using one of the alignments mentioned below or with tab stops and Tab.
- Examples of alignment.
- How to change the alignment.
- What are the alignment keyboard shortcuts?
- How many alignments are in Microsoft Word?
- What is the default alignment?
- What is decimal aligned?
- Related information.
Examples of alignment
Below are different examples of aligned text; realize these examples are aligned with the container and not the page or screen.
Left-aligned
Tab-aligned
Center-aligned
Right-aligned
How to change the alignment
The alignment can be adjusted through the toolbar, Ribbon, or a keyboard shortcut (mentioned below). For example, in the Microsoft Word Ribbon, under the Home tab in the Alignment or Paragraph section, you'll find the different alignment options. These options are often represented by lines, which represent lines of text. For example, the left-align button has all lines flush on the left side.
Below are the exact steps to change any text that's aligned to the left to be centered.
- Open the document containing the text you want to center.
- Highlight the text you want to center.
- Click the center text icon or press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+E.
After doing the above steps, the text is centered. Realize that if a new line is made by pressing Enter at the end of the centered line, the new line is also centered. To change the new line back to the left, repeat the above steps but choose the left align icon.
Applying the same alignment to text removes that alignment. For example, if you center text that's already centered it'll removes that alignment.
For more specific steps with changing text alignment in a specific program, see the links in the below related information section.
What are the alignment keyboard shortcuts?
The alignment keyboard shortcuts can vary depending on what program is used and the type of computer. However, often use the keys Ctrl+L to align left, Ctrl+E to center, Ctrl+R to align right, and Ctrl+J to justify text.
How many alignments are in Microsoft Word?
In Microsoft Word, WordPad, and most word processors, there are four alignments for text: left, center, right, and justified.
What is the default alignment?
With programs designed for English users, the left alignment is the default alignment. With languages that write right-to-left, the right alignment is the default alignment.
What is decimal aligned?
With decimal alignment, numbers are aligned by the position of the decimal. In Microsoft Excel, this alignment can be done by changing the cell format to accounting. Below is an example of how this may appear.
.123
1.23 12.34 1.2345
2. When describing how data is handled in memory, align or alignment describes arranging data in word size boundaries so data can be stored and accessed faster.
Center, Flush left, Flush right, Horizontal, Left align, Margin, Ragged, Right align, Ruler, Tab stop, Typography terms, Vertical, Word processor terms, Word wrap