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 a Paragraph in a Macro.

Aligning a Paragraph in a Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 8, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Word allows a rich set of formatting attributes for text in a document. You can control the alignment of a paragraph by using the following VBA statement:

Selection.Paragraphs.Alignment = position

where position is one of the constants shown in the following table:

Constant Result
wdAlignParagraphLeft Formats the current paragraph as left justified
wdAlignParagraphCenter Formats the current paragraph as centered
wdAlignParagraphRight Formats the current paragraph as right justified
wdAlignParagraphJustify Formats the current paragraph so it expands to the left and right margins

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13112) 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 a Paragraph 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. ...

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