Text will not justify word

Aligning text in Microsoft Word is one of the primary features of the popular app. Many users tend to use the Justify option to get the job done, but there may come a time when it fails to work. The question is, then, what can be done to get this issue under control? There are a few things we can do, and luckily for you, we have the sauce. Just know we’re going to focus on the latest version of Microsoft Word in this article. But that shouldn’t be a problem if you’re an advanced user.

If Justify Text or Paragraph is not working in Microsoft Word, then here are the steps you need to take to fix the issue:

  1. Open the preferred Microsoft document
  2. Choose the paragraph you want to Justify
  3. Navigate to Advanced Find
  4. Go to the Replace tab

1] Open the preferred Microsoft document

To begin, you must launch the affected document. To do this, open Microsoft Word on your Windows computer, then you should see a list of recent documents. The one you want should be in that list, so seek it out, then click on it to open.

2] Choose the paragraph you want to Justify

In order to select the paragraph, please click and hold the left mouse button at the beginning of the paragraph, then drag to the end, and release. If the texts are highlighted, then you can be sure the paragraph has been selected.

3] Navigate to Advanced Find

Fix Test Paragraph not justifying in MS Word

How do we get this done? Well, simply look to the top-right corner of the document. You should see the Find icon in that section. Just click on the arrow next to it then select Advanced Find.

4] Go to the Replace tab

Fix Test Paragraph not justifying in MS Word

After you’ve fired up the Advanced Find section, you are required, then, to select the Replace tab. From there, go to the Find box, then enter the following:

^p

Finally, hit Replace All. Ensure the Replace With field is 100 percent empty before adding anything to it. The problem with the inability to Justify should now be solved once and for all, or until next time.

Alternatively, use the Word Advanced Options to justify Text & Paragraphs

Another way to get things working again is to take advantage of the Advanced Options section via the Microsoft Word settings area. So, let us look at how to get this done right now.

First thing, you must navigate to the Options area of Microsoft Word. To do this, click on File from the top-left corner of the document, then from there, select Options to fire up a new window.

Via the left menu, you should see several tabs to choose from, but you only need to click on Advanced. It is located below Ease of Access and above Customize Ribbon, so you cannot miss it.

Finally, you’ll be required to navigate to the section named, Layout options for. Below it, please tick the box next to Don’t expand character spaces on a line that ends with SHIFT Return, then hit the OK button.

That’s it, your problems with Justifying text in Microsoft Word should now be rectified.

Why is my Justify not working in Word?

We cannot say what exactly is the cause behind the issue where it’s impossible to Justify text or a paragraph in Microsoft Word. What we do know is that this is a common problem, which is why we are confident the fixes were going to discuss will work.

What is paragraph alignment in Microsoft Word?

Paragraph alignment is basically a font formatting technique that can be used before or after writing a text. With this feature, users can Align Left, Right, Center, and Justify.

How do I get my paragraphs to line up in Word?

This is super easy. Simply place the insertion point at the preferred spot in the paragraph, document, or table that you wish to align. From there, you must press CTRL + I. If you want to align the text right, press CTRL + R, and if left is the best option, then hit CTRL + L, and that’s it.

Read: How to remove a Watermark in Microsoft Word.

Word for Microsoft 365 Word 2021 Word 2019 Word 2016 Word 2013 Word 2010 Word 2007 More…Less

Alignment determines the appearance and orientation of the edges of the paragraph: left-aligned text, right-aligned text, centered text, or justified text, which is aligned evenly along the left and right margins. For example, in a paragraph that is left-aligned (the most common alignment), the left edge of the paragraph is flush with the left margin.

Vertical alignment determines the position of the text within a section of a document relative to the top and bottom margins, and is often used to create a cover page.

  1. Select the text that you want to align.

  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Align Left or Align Right .

  1. Select the text that you want to center.

  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Center .

  1. Select the text that you want to center.

  2. On the Layout or Page Layout tab, click the Dialog Box Launcher Dialog box button in the Page Setup group, and then click the Layout tab.

  3. In the Vertical alignment box, click Center.

  4. In the Apply to box, click Selected text, and then click OK.

When you justify text in Word, you give your text straight edges on both sides of the paragraph. Justifying extends each line of your text to the left and right margins. Justifying text might make the last line of text in a paragraph considerably shorter than the other lines.

  1. Select the text you want to justify.

  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Justify .

Tips: 

  • In the Paragraph group, click the Dialog Box Launcher Dialog box button, and select the Alignment drop-down menu to set your justified text.

    You can open the Paragraph dialog box by clicking the Expand icon.

    In the Paragraph dialog box, sent the direction of the alignment.

  • You can also use the keyboard shortcut, Ctrl + J to justify your text.

In Office Word 2007, you can choose from a selection of predesigned cover pages to create a professional-looking document quickly and easily.

  1. On the Insert tab, in the Pages group, click Cover Page.

    Word Ribbon Image

  2. Click the cover page that you want.

    A cover page is always added to the beginning of the open document.

See also

Adjust indents and spacing

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Sometime paragraph not justify in MS Word, this happen when you copy paste text from internet websites or pdf file, if you try justify manually it will take lot of time and energy, here I will shows easiest way to fix this problem, so let see how to fix text not justify issue in MS Word, this method will work all the version of MS Word.

1.    First select the text paragraph, click on “Home” extend the “Find” select “Advanced Find”

2.       Click on “Replace” type “^p” in find what box and keep the cursor on replace with box, now click on “Replace All”

3.       This will replace selected paragraph, if you want continue this action than click on “yes” other click “no” after this close the find & replace box

4.       Now you can justify the paragraph

Watch video tutorial… Please like, share & subscribe 


Asked by: Dr. Prince Ernser V

Score: 5/5
(12 votes)

Justify text

  1. Click anywhere in the paragraph that you want to justify.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Justify Text .

What is fully justified text on word?

justified—text is aligned along the left margin, with letter-spacing and word-spacing adjusted so that the text falls flush with both margins, also known as fully justified or full justification; centered—text is aligned to neither the left nor right margin; there is an even gap on each side of each line.

Why is my text not justifying in Word?

Common causes for this include: The text has been set to right, centered, left, or justified alignment. Use the alignment tools under the Paragraph section of the Home menu to set the alignment you want. A special indentation, such as a first line or hanging indentation, may have been selected.

How do you justify align in Word for Mac?

Word for Mac OS X

  1. From the Format menu, select Document….
  2. Select the Layout tab.
  3. From the Vertical alignment menu, select Justified, and then click OK.

How do I align text horizontally?

To align text horizontally on a page, highlight the text you want to center. Next, click the “Center Alignment” icon in the “Paragraph” group of the “Home” tab. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl+E keyboard shortcut. Your text will now be horizontally aligned.

24 related questions found

How do you justify text in Word for Mac without spaces?

  1. Click the Office button, Word Options, Advanced.
  2. Go to absolute bottom of Advanced options, and click to expand Layout Options.
  3. Tick “Do full justification like WordPerfect…” ( this Options list is in alphabetical order)
  4. Click OK.

How do you fix an illegible text in Word?

In Word, select the File Menu, and then select Open. In the Files of type box, select Recover Text from Any File(.). Select the document from which you want to recover the text. Select Open.

How do I fix misaligned text in Word?

Change text alignment

  1. To align the text left, press Ctrl+L.
  2. To align the text right, press Ctrl+R.
  3. To center the text, press Ctrl+E.

What is the shortcut key to justify the text?

To make text justified, select and highlight the text first, then hold down Ctrl (the control key) on the keyboard and then press J. To make the text left aligned again, press and hold down Ctrl on the keyboard and press L.

Why is justified text bad?

Justifying text disrupts that even texture. Even if a page layout program is using subtle letter-spacing, or adjusting the width of the letters – these things, too, will make the texture uneven. So, justified text should really be avoided not just on the web, but whenever possible.

How do I flush left in Word?

Flush Left and Flush Right On the Same Line

  1. Make sure the paragraph is formatted as left-aligned.
  2. Choose the Tabs option from the Format menu. Word displays the Tabs dialog box. …
  3. Insert a right-aligned tab near the right edge of the line.
  4. Click on Set.
  5. Click on OK.
  6. Type your text.

How do you justify text in Word 2007?

Justify. Full justification occurs when both the left and right sides of a paragraph are lined up flush with the page margins. To fully justify a paragraph, press Ctrl+J or click the Justify button.

What are the four shortcut keys for text alignment?

The alignment keyboard shortcut keys can vary depending on what program is used and the type of computer. However, generally speaking, use Ctrl + L to left align, Ctrl + E to center, Ctrl + R to right align, and Ctrl + J to justify text.

How do you text a key?

Position the insertion point in the Press New Shortcut Key text box. Press the shortcut key you want to use. For instance, if you want to use Ctrl+J, then press Ctrl+J. Just below the Current Keys text box you should see the name of any commands currently using this shortcut.

How do I make a text unreadable?

Choose an encoding standard when you open a file

  1. Click the File tab.
  2. Click Options.
  3. Click Advanced.
  4. Scroll to the General section, and then select the Confirm file format conversion on open check box. …
  5. Close and then reopen the file.
  6. In the Convert File dialog box, select Encoded Text.

How do you corrupt a text file?

How to Corrupt a Word File?

  1. Upload the file to corrupt it.
  2. Click on CORRUPT FILE to start corrupting your file.
  3. Download the corrupted file.
  4. Open the Word file in Notepad.
  5. Select the file type as All Files.
  6. Click on the Save As to save it as a Word file.
  7. Select the type as All Files.
  8. Error message on the corrupted Word file.

Where is the text recovery converter in Word?

How to Use the Recover Text Converter in Microsoft Word

  1. Open Microsoft Word, click «File» then «Options.» Click «Advanced.» Select «Confirm file format conversion on Open.» Click «OK.»
  2. Click «File,» then «Open.»
  3. Select «Recover Text from Any File(,)» under the «Files of Type» box.

How do I fix the last line of justified text?

Just turn on Show/Hide (the paragraph symbol in the Home tab of the Word Ribbon), select (with your mouse) the «end of line» symbol that looks like the return arrow on your Enter key, then hit the Enter key to put a true «end of paragraph» code. Once you do that, the justification fixes itself.

How do I get rid of large gaps between words in Word?

How do I fix a big space between words in Word?

  1. Select the text that you want to change.
  2. On the Home tab, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher, and then click the Advanced tab.
  3. In the Spacing box, click Expanded or Condensed, and then specify how much space you want in the By box.

How do you change text spacing in Word for Mac?

Change Default Font and Spacing in Mac Word

  1. Click on File and Style….
  2. Select Normal and click Modify….
  3. Change your font, pt, line spacing, etc. (i.e. I changed the Font to Times New Roman, 12 pt, and line spacing to single.) Click OK when done.
  4. Click Yes when prompted.

What is L Ctrl?

In Microsoft Word, Ctrl+L is used to left align a paragraph. Also referred to as Control L and C-l, Ctrl+L is a shortcut key that varies depending on the program being used. In Microsoft Word, Ctrl+L is used to left align a paragraph.

How many ways are there to align the text define them?

There are four main alignments: left, right, center, and justified. Left-aligned text is text that is aligned with a left edge. Right-aligned text is text that is aligned with a right edge. Centered text is text that is centered between two edges.

What is the meaning of CTRL E?

Ctrl+E in an Internet browser

In Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer, Ctrl + E focuses on the address bar, search bar, or omnibox. Using this shortcut can be helpful when you’re done browsing the current page and want to type in a new address or search for something else without using the mouse.

Justify text

  1. Click anywhere in the paragraph that you want to justify.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Justify Text .

Contents

  • 1 How do I justify text in Word?
  • 2 What is the justification of a text?
  • 3 How do you justify text in Word Mobile?
  • 4 How do you right align?
  • 5 How do you vertically align text?
  • 6 How do you align some text left and some right?
  • 7 How do you align a colon in Word?
  • 8 Should you right justify text?
  • 9 Why You Should not justify text?
  • 10 Should you justify text in an essay?
  • 11 How do you justify text in Word without gaps?
  • 12 How do I fix justified text in InDesign?
  • 13 How do you justify text on Iphone?
  • 14 How do you justify text in Word Android?
  • 15 How do you align text in Word?
  • 16 How do I align text horizontally?
  • 17 Is aligned the text with right margin?
  • 18 How do you center a form?
  • 19 How do I center content vertically?
  • 20 What is horizontal alignment?

How do I justify text in Word?

With your cursor in the paragraph or line that you want to justify, press Ctrl-j ( Cmd-j on a Macintosh). Alternatively, from the toolbar, click the Justify Text button. Type or place your cursor at the end of the line of text that you wish to justify. There must be at least one space in the line.

What is the justification of a text?

When you justify text in Word, you give your text straight edges on both sides of the paragraph. Justifying extends each line of your text to the left and right margins. Justifying text might make the last line of text in a paragraph considerably shorter than the other lines.

How do you justify text in Word Mobile?

To align the paragraph to the center, tap Align center. To align the text to the right, tap Align right. To make the paragraph justified, tap Justified.

How do you right align?

The alignment keyboard shortcut keys can vary depending on what program is used and the type of computer. However, generally speaking, use Ctrl + L to left align, Ctrl + E to center, Ctrl + R to right align, and Ctrl + J to justify text.

How do you vertically align text?

How to Vertically Center Text with CSS

  1. Use the CSS vertical-align property.
  2. Use CSS Flexbox.
  3. Use the CSS display property.
  4. Use the CSS line-height property.
  5. Set equal top and bottom padding.
  6. Set absolute positioning and negative margin.
  7. Set absolute positioning and stretching.
  8. Set the CSS transform property.

How do you align some text left and some right?

Figure B

  1. On the Home tab, click the Paragraph group’s dialog launcher and then click Tabs in the bottom-left corner.
  2. Enter 6.5 in the Tab stop position.
  3. Click Right in the Alignment section (Figure C).
  4. Click Set.
  5. Click OK.

How do you align a colon in Word?

First, you go to the “View”, then click on the ruler. Click the “L” like symbol continually until it becomes a upside down “T” with a dot on its right, move the ruler to the position you like to place the colon. Click “Tab” at the left of the colon and the colon will move to that position.

Should you right justify text?

Instead of following the flow of words along even spacing, users have to find the start of each new word. The Royal National Institute of Blind people (RNIB) strongly recommend websites do not use justified text.

Why You Should not justify text?

Justifying text disrupts that even texture. Even if a page layout program is using subtle letter-spacing, or adjusting the width of the letters – these things, too, will make the texture uneven. So, justified text should really be avoided not just on the web, but whenever possible.

Should you justify text in an essay?

The text of your paper should be left aligned, NOT justified, as justified text is hard to read if it hasn’t been professionally typeset. The default in Word is left alignment so don’t change it.

How do you justify text in Word without gaps?

Method 1: Change Layout Options

  1. First, click “File” then click “Options” to open “Word Options” dialog box.
  2. Next click “Advanced” and scroll down to the bottom of the box.
  3. Click “Layout Options” to bring out more choices.
  4. Check the “Don’t expand character spaces on a line that ends with SHIFT-RETURN” box and click “OK”.

How do I fix justified text in InDesign?

The InDesign method

  1. Select Edit (Windows) or InDesign (Mac), Preferences, Composition.
  2. In the Highlight section, select H&J Violations (H&J = hyphenation and justification)
  3. Click OK.

How do you justify text on Iphone?

Now you’re ready to right-justify in an iOS app like Notes, Mail, etc!

  1. Launch Notes (or any app where you can type text)
  2. Type a word.
  3. Double tap the word to select it (like you would for copy and paste)
  4. Arrows will appear at the far right side of the popup menu.
  5. Tap the arrows to toggle between left and right justify.

How do you justify text in Word Android?

Align the text: Tap the text and then tap the alignment icon to align the text left, center, right, or justified. Line spacing: To add or remove space before or after a line or paragraph, tap your text, tap the spacing icon, and then make your selection.

How do you align text in Word?

Change text alignment

  1. Place the insertion point anywhere in the paragraph, document, or table that you want to align.
  2. Do one of the following: To align the text left, press Ctrl+L. To align the text right, press Ctrl+R. To center the text, press Ctrl+E.

How do I align text horizontally?

To align text horizontally on a page, highlight the text you want to center. Next, click the “Center Alignment” icon in the “Paragraph” group of the “Home” tab. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl+E keyboard shortcut. Your text will now be horizontally aligned.

Is aligned the text with right margin?

For example, in a paragraph that is left-aligned (the most common alignment), text is aligned with the left margin. In a paragraph that is justified, text is aligned with both margins.
Align text left, center, or right.

To Click
Align text right Align Text Right

How do you center a form?

  1. Wrap your form in a div.
  2. Set the div’s display to block and text-align to center (this will center the contained form).
  3. Set the form’s display to inline-block (auto-sizes to content), left and right margins to auto (centers it horizontally), and text-align to left (or else its children will be center-aligned too).

How do I center content vertically?

The CSS just sizes the div, vertically center aligns the span by setting the div’s line-height equal to its height, and makes the span an inline-block with vertical-align: middle. Then it sets the line-height back to normal for the span, so its contents will flow naturally inside the block.

What is horizontal alignment?

Horizontal alignment is the positioning of a roadway, as shown in the plan view, using a series of straight lines called tangents connected by circular curves.

To simply put, a justified text is spaced so that the sides of your paragraphs are aligned to both the left and right margins.

MS Word automatically fills in spaces between words to achieve clean-cut edges rendering paragraph lines to be of the same length. 

  • Using the Justify text-alignment button
  • Using a shortcut key
  • Using the Context menu

Lets get started.


Method 1: Using the Justify Text-alignment Button

Step 1: Open an MS Word document. 

Step 2: Select the text. 

Select the text that you want to be justified. Then, go to the Home tab and select the Justify icon found under the Paragraph group. 

This will justify the selected text.


Method 2: Using a Shortcut Key

Step 1: Open an MS Word document. 

Step 2: Select the text. 

Select the text you want to justify.

Now, hit the CTRL + J keys on your keyboard to justify the selected text. 

There you have it! You’ve just used a shortcut key to justify text in Word! 


Method 3: Using the Context Menu

Step 1: Open a Word document. 

Step 2: Select the text. 

Now that you have your document ready, go ahead and select the text that you want to be justified. 

Step 3: Access the Context menu. 

With the text selected, right-click on it and select Paragraph.

This will display the Paragraph dialogue box right in the middle of your screen.

On the dialogue box, under Indents and Spacing, click the Alignment drop-down menu and select Justified

Click the OK button to save or Cancel to revert changes. 

Voila! You’ve just used the context menu to justify text in Word. 


Conclusion

We hope you’ve found this article helpful!

Apply Left, Center, Right or Justify Alignment to Text in Microsoft Word

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated April 13, 2022

Applies to: Microsoft® Word® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

You can align or justify text or other content in Word in several ways including using keyboard shortcuts, selecting commands in the Ribbon, using the Paragraph dialog box or modifying a style. It’s important to note that alignment or justification is paragraph formatting so applies to entire paragraphs. You can align text or inline graphics in paragraphs that are followed by a hard return (you pressed Enter or Return).

To see where paragraphs have been created in a Word document, it’s helpful to turn on Show/Hide ¶ on the Home tab in the Ribbon.

In this article, we’ll review 4 different ways to change horizontal alignment or justification in Word documents.

Recommended article: How to Insert a Line in Word (3+ Ways)

Do you want to learn more about Microsoft Word? Check out our virtual classroom or in-person Word courses >

There are 4 types of alignment that can be applied to paragraphs:

  • Align left – aligns text or inline graphics with the left margin or indent
  • Center – centers text or inline graphics between the left and right margins or indents
  • Align right – aligns text or inline graphics with the right margin or indent
  • Justify – distributes text evenly between the left and right margins or indents

A paragraph aligns within the indents (indent markers appear on the Ruler). The indents may be different from the margins. Paragraphs are also entered in cells in tables and each paragraph in a cell may have different indents and alignment settings.

1. Align or justify using keyboard shortcuts

To align or justify paragraphs using keyboard shortcuts:

  • Align left – select the paragraph(s) and press Ctrl + L to align to the left.
  • Align right – select the paragraph(s) and press Ctrl + R to align to the right.
  • Align center – select the paragraph(s) and press Ctrl + E to align center.
  • Justify – select the paragraph(s) and press Ctrl + J to justify.

2. Align or justify using the Ribbon

To align or justify paragraphs using the Word Ribbon

  1. Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to apply alignment or justification. If you would like to select all paragraphs, press Ctrl + A.
  2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and then click Align Left, Center, Align Right or Justify in the Paragraph group.

Align and Justify commands appear on the Home tab in the Ribbon in the Paragraph group:

Align commands in Word including left, center, right and justify.

3. Align or justify using the Paragraph dialog box

To align or justify paragraphs using the Paragraph dialog box:

  1. Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to apply alignment or justification. If you would like to select all paragraphs, press Ctrl + A.
  2. Right-click and select Paragraph. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
  3. From the Alignment drop-down menu, select Left, Center, Right or Justify.
  4. Click OK.

You can also display the Paragraph dialog box by clicking the Home tab in the Ribbon and then clicking the dialog box launcher on the bottom right of the Paragraph group.

The Paragraph dialog box includes a drop-down menu to select Alignment:

Paragraph dialog box in Word with commands to align or justify text.

4. Align or justify by modifying a style

When you create a new blank document, it starts out using the Normal style which contains default paragraph and character formatting.

If you want to apply alignment or justification to multiple paragraphs throughout a document (such as a heading), you can modify a style (such as Heading 1).

To change the alignment for a heading style (such as Heading 1):

  1. Click in a paragraph using the heading style (typically applied through the Home tab in the Ribbon).
  2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
  3. In the Styles group, right-click the heading style. A dialog box appears.
  4. Click Format. A drop-down menu appears.
  5. Click Paragraph. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
  6. From the Alignment drop-down menu, select Center or your preferred alignment.
  7. Click OK twice.

Below is the Modify Style dialog box with align and justify commands:

Modify style dialog box in Word with commands to align or justify text.

There may be issues if you modify alignment or justification in the Normal style since other styles are based on this style by default. Cells in tables would likely be affected and so would other styles that are based on the Normal style (such as Header, Footer and Heading styles). Paragraphs using these styles would then inherit the alignment or justification (unless alignment or justification has been specifically modified in these styles). If you are comfortable using styles, you could create your own style or modify a different Word style to avoid this issue.

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