Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Changing Cell Alignment.

Changing Cell Alignment

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 19, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365


If you desire, you can independently specify the alignment of every cell in a Word table. Originally, the cell alignment matches the alignment of the paragraphs from which the table was created. You can override this, however, by using the tools that Word provides. Actually, there are two places you can locate the appropriate tools. Before accessing the tools, however, make sure you place the insertion point within the cell you want to affect, or select a group of cells.

The first place you can look is on the Home tab of the ribbon. Within the Paragraph group are tools normally used to align paragraphs—left, center, right, and justify. These can be used to align the text within your table cells, as well.

The second place you can look is on the Table Layout tab of the ribbon. Within the Alignment group there are nine tools that allow you to both vertically and horizontally align the text within the cells.

Note that you should choose the tools you use based on what you want to do. If you want to justify the text in the cell, then you should use the tools on the Home tab of the ribbon. If you want to vertically align text, then you should use the tools on the Table Layout tab of the ribbon.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6027) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing Cell Alignment.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Creating Custom Labels

There is a whole passel of labels pre-defined in Word. You are not limited to this passel, however; Word allows you to ...

Discover More

Using Check Boxes

Check boxes, just like those used in Windows dialog boxes, can be a great addition to a worksheet. Here's how to add them ...

Discover More

Widening a Column to a Particular Cell's Width

Do you want to set a column's width based on whatever is in the currently selected cell? There are actually a number of ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Centering Information in Table Cells

One of the most common ways to format information in a table is to apply some sort of alignment to the contents of table ...

Discover More

Stopping Row Breaking for Many Tables

Got a lot of tables you need to format all at once? While you could make your changes manually, a much quicker way is to ...

Discover More

Underlining Cells, Not Space Between Cells

Word provides a couple of ways you can underline information, including underlining table cells and their contents. ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 9 - 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.