Paragraph Formatting
By the Syncfusion DevTutorials team · Last updated
Align paragraphs, set line and paragraph spacing, indent text, and use paragraph marks to see what's really on the page.
Text formatting changes individual letters and words. Paragraph formatting changes whole paragraphs: where they sit on the line, how much space is between the lines, and how far they're pushed in from the margin. In this lesson, you'll learn alignment, line spacing, paragraph spacing, indentation, and how to see the hidden paragraph marks.
Open the Word sandbox and follow along.
Paragraph formatting applies to the whole paragraph, so you don't need to select all of it. Just click anywhere inside the paragraph. To format several paragraphs at once, select across all of them.
Alignment
The first paragraph setting to master is where the text sits. Alignment decides how the lines of a paragraph line up between the left and right margins. The four alignment buttons are in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.
| Alignment | Shortcut | What it looks like | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left | Ctrl + L | Lines start at the left margin; the right edge is ragged | Most body text. This is the default. |
| Center | Ctrl + E | Lines sit in the middle of the page | Titles, invitations, poems |
| Right | Ctrl + R | Lines end at the right margin | Dates and addresses in letters |
| Justify | Ctrl + J | Both edges are straight, with extra space added between words | Newspapers, books, formal reports |
Never center a title by pressing the space bar. As soon as the text changes, it moves off-center. The Center button keeps it perfectly centered every time.
Line spacing
Line spacing is the gap between the lines inside a paragraph.
- Click inside the paragraph, or select several paragraphs.
- On the Home tab, click the Line and Paragraph Spacing button (lines with up and down arrows).
Pick a value:
- 1.0 is single spacing: lines close together.
- 1.5 is a little more open, and easier to read.
- 2.0 is double spacing, often required for essays so teachers can write notes between the lines.
Paragraph spacing
While line spacing works inside a paragraph, paragraph spacing is the gap between paragraphs: space before a paragraph starts, and space after it ends. It's measured in points.
To set it, open the Paragraph dialog: click the small arrow in the corner of the Paragraph group on the Home tab, or right-click the paragraph and choose Paragraph. Then set Before and After under Spacing.
Use space after instead of pressing Enter twice between paragraphs. Setting After to 12 pt gives every paragraph the same neat gap, and you can change all of them at once later. Empty paragraphs made with extra Enter presses are hard to keep even.
Indentation
Sometimes you need a paragraph to start farther from the margin. Indentation pushes a paragraph in from the margin.
| Indent | What it does | How to set it |
|---|---|---|
| Left indent | Moves the whole paragraph to the right | Increase Indent button on the Home tab, or Ctrl + M |
| Decrease indent | Moves the paragraph back to the left | Decrease Indent button, or Ctrl + Shift + M |
| First-line indent | Pushes in only the first line, like in a novel | Paragraph dialog, Special > First line |
| Hanging indent | Keeps the first line at the margin and pushes in the rest, as in a reference list | Paragraph dialog, Special > Hanging |
Each click of Increase Indent moves the paragraph about half an inch (36 points).
Paragraph marks
Sometimes a paragraph won't behave: the spacing looks wrong, or text sits in a strange place. Often the cause is a character you can't see. Word hides some characters that you type but can't see: spaces, tabs, and the paragraph mark (¶) created every time you press Enter.
Click the Show/Hide ¶ button on the Home tab, or press Ctrl + Shift + 8, to show them:
- ¶ marks the end of each paragraph.
- · (a small dot) shows each space.
- → shows each tab.
These marks never print. They're there to help you see what's really in your document, such as two spaces between words, or an empty paragraph that's pushing your text down. Click the button again to hide them.
If you delete a ¶ by accident, Word joins the two paragraphs and their formatting may change. Press Ctrl + Z to undo, or add the paragraph break again.
Common mistakes
Here are the most common traps, and how to fix them:
| Mistake | What happens | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Centering with the space bar | The text drifts off-center when edited | Delete the spaces and click Center |
| Pressing Enter at the end of each line | Every line becomes its own paragraph and spacing goes wrong | Show ¶, delete the extra marks, and let Word wrap the text |
| Double-spacing with empty paragraphs | Gaps are uneven and break across pages oddly | Use the Line Spacing button instead |
| Indenting with spaces | Lines don't line up neatly | Use Increase Indent or a first-line indent |
| Formatting only part of a list of paragraphs | Some paragraphs look different | Select all the paragraphs, then apply the format |
Exercise
Now it's time to practise paragraph formatting yourself.
Click New in the sandbox title bar. Then type these three paragraphs:
Annual Sports DaySaturday, 14 JuneJoin us for races, games, and prizes for every age group. Bring water, a hat, and your team spirit. Lunch will be served at noon.
Now do each task and press Check.
What to remember
- Paragraph formatting applies to the whole paragraph. Just click inside it.
- Ctrl + L left, Ctrl + E center, Ctrl + R right, Ctrl + J justify.
- Line spacing is inside a paragraph; paragraph spacing is before and after it.
- Use space after instead of extra Enter presses.
- Increase Indent (Ctrl + M) moves a paragraph in; a first-line indent moves only the first line.
- Show/Hide ¶ (Ctrl + Shift + 8) reveals hidden marks. They never print.
In the next lesson, you'll organize information with bulleted, numbered, and multilevel lists.