Format tables for bidirectional text

Pages supports bidirectional text, so you can enter and edit text written from left to right (such as in English or Chinese) and from right to left (such as in Arabic or Hebrew) in the same document. You can also reverse the direction of tables to accommodate different languages.

Note: To change the direction of cell text or an entire table, your device must be set up for input sources that use different text directions—for example, one keyboard for typing a right-to-left language, such as Hebrew, and another for typing a left-to-right language, such as English. If Pages is open when you add a right-to-left keyboard, you need to restart Pages before you’ll see the bidirectional controls. See Set up a keyboard or other input source for another language.

The default direction of text in table cells is based on the current keyboard (selected in the Input menu).

Change text direction in a table

You can change the direction of text in selected cells.

  1. Select the cells, then in the Format  sidebar, click the Text tab.

  2. Click the Style button near the top of the sidebar, then in the Alignment section, click the Switch paragraph direction button.

    The paragraph direction button next to paragraph alignment buttons.

Reverse table direction

You can change the table direction so that header rows, column order, and other table elements are reversed.

  1. Click the table to select it.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Choose Format > Table > Reverse Table Direction (from the Format menu at the top of your screen).

    • In the Format  sidebar, click the Table tab, then click a Table Direction button at the bottom of the sidebar.

When you change the direction, cell alignment is affected as follows:

See alsoEnter text in another language