Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Aligning Paragraphs in a Macro.

Aligning Paragraphs in a Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 28, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


3

Long-time Word users know that if you are formatting the paragraphs in your document, the Home tab of the ribbon includes some great tools you can use, or (better still) you can use styles to do the formatting. What if you have a need to align a paragraph within a macro you are writing, though? What do you do then?

Actually, aligning paragraphs within a macro is quite easy, requiring only a single line. Here's an example of how you would, for instance, center-align a paragraph:

Selection.ParagraphFormat.Alignment = wdAlignParagraphCenter

Notice that the Alignment property is set to a preset Word value, in this case wdAlignParagraphCenter. There are a number of different values you can use in your alignment:

  • wdAlignParagraphLeft to align the paragraph to the left margin.
  • wdAlignParagraphCenter to align the paragraph to the center of the print area.
  • wdAlignParagraphRight to align the paragraph to the right margin.
  • wdAlignParagraphJustify to align full lines within the paragraph with both left and right margins.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12039) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Aligning Paragraphs in a Macro.

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

Deleting Caption Labels

Define a custom label to be used for captions, and you may later want to delete that label. Here's how you can easily ...

Discover More

Updating Document Links

If you establish dynamic links between documents, then you can force Word to update those links whenever you want. How ...

Discover More

Stopping an Excel Window from Maximizing

When you drag an Excel window near the edge of your screen, you may end up having that window occupy more of the screen ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Automating a Manual Process with a Macro

The entire purpose of macros is to allow you to automate repetitive or tedious tasks with relative ease. How easy the ...

Discover More

Writing a Macro from Scratch

Creating macros can help extend what you can do in Word. If you work with macros, you know that creating macros from ...

Discover More

Automatically Inserting Brackets

Want a fast way to add brackets around a selected word? You can use this simple macro to add both brackets in a single step.

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 seven more than 2?

2021-04-13 15:30:42

Kashmira

Thanks. Will surely try.


2021-04-13 09:28:32

Andrew

Kashmira, it's hard to tell what you're asking because the system is making all your texts look the same.

I would suggest you experiment with using tabs to get the alignment you desire--tabs let you also align to them with left, right, and center alignment.

Andy.


2021-04-12 18:56:20

Kashmira

hi
I have a paragraphs like these
1 55050UP 4009 USN 4599 CAS 1 13 I 182 100 3500 09APR21 0 0 B F
COMMENTS: TORONTO CA MIX SC123456
1 55050UP 4009 USN 4599 CAS 1 13 I 182 100 3500 09APR21 0 0 B F
COMMENTS: TORONTO CA MIX SC123456

I want 1st line aligned to 2nd line, I tried Justify , left position. But it is not working.
I want aligned like below. Any suggestion. I get this only when I do manually aligning paragraph to Justify.
Also I want automatically adding space between 2 paragraph 6 point , but keeping 2 line together. 6 point.

1 55050UP 4009 USN 4599 CAS 1 13 I 182 100 3500 09APR21 0 0 B F
COMMENTS: TORONTO CA MIX SC123456

1 55050UP 4009 USN 4599 CAS 1 13 I 182 100 3500 09APR21 0 0 B F
COMMENTS: TORONTO CA MIX SC123456


Thanks


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.