You can change the alignment of paragraphs in a page, column, table cell, text box, or shape so that text is aligned to the left or right border, centered, or aligned on both left and right (justified).

Use the Alignment buttons in the format bar to quickly change the alignment of text in your document. To change the alignment of text, select the text, and then click the Alignment buttons in the format bar.

To align text left, center, right, or justified using the Text inspector:

  1. Select the text you want to change.

  2. Click Inspector in the toolbar, click the Text button, and then click Text.

  3. Click one of the five horizontal alignment buttons, located to the right of the color well. From left to right, these buttons have the following effects.

    • Align Left:  
      Places each line of text against the left margin of the object.
    • Center:  
      Sets the center of each line of text at the center of the object.
    • Align Right:  
      Sets each line of text against the right margin of the object.
    • Justify:  
      Spaces characters in each line so that the lines reach both the left and right margins of the object.
    • Auto Align Table Cell:  
      Left-justifies text and right-justifies numbers in a table cell.

The first four alignment buttons are available on the format bar when text is selected. The fifth horizontal alignment button is also available on the format bar when a table cell is selected.

You can also align text horizontally by choosing Format > Text > Align Left, Center, Align Right, Justify, or Auto Align Table Cell.

If you want to indent the first line of text in a paragraph or learn how to remove paragraph indenting, see Setting Indents.

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