ARCHIVED: In Microsoft Word, how do I justify text on a page?
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To space text evenly on the page in Microsoft Word, follow the appropriate instructions below.
On this page:
Changing the vertical alignment
Word 2010 and 2007 for Windows
From the
Page Layout
tab, open the Page Setup... dialog box (using the button in the lower right corner of the Page Setup group).
Select the
Layout
tab.
In the “Vertical alignment:” box, select
Justified
, and
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Word for Mac OS X
From the
Format
menu, select
Document…
.
Select the
Layout
tab.
From the
Vertical alignment
menu, select
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Changing the horizontal alignment
Note: Because the last line of text in a paragraph is often shorter than the other lines, it may not appear to be justified. To justify the last line in a justified paragraph, place the insertion point at the end of the last line, and then press Shift-Enter (Shift-Return on a Mac). Use the Enter key on the main keyboard, not on the keypad. This will insert a soft return (i.e., a non-paragraph-ending return). Be aware that justifying a very short line of text may look odd because of the large amount of space that will be created between the words.
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Word 2010 and 2007 for Windows and Word 2011 for Mac
Select the text you want to justify.
( ) in the “Paragraph” group*.
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Word 2008 and earlier for Mac
Select the text you want to justify.
( )*.
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*Alternatively, after selecting the text and select Paragraph. In the Paragraph dialog box, select the Indents and Spacing tab and, from the Alignment drop-down list, select Justified.
The above instructions were adapted from the following articles: