Which refers to how the left and right edges of a paragraph are arranged on a page?

Documents contain text that conveys information to readers, but the appearance of the document content also conveys a message. You can provide structure and meaning by formatting the text in various ways. Word 2019 provides a variety of simple-to-use tools that you can use to apply sophisticated formatting and create a navigational structure.

In a short document or one that doesn’t require a complex navigational structure, you can easily format words and paragraphs so that key points stand out and the structure of your document is clear. You can achieve dramatic flair by applying predefined WordArt text effects. To keep the appearance of documents and other Microsoft Office files consistent, you can format document elements by applying predefined sets of formatting called styles. In addition, you can change the fonts, colors, and effects throughout a document with one click by applying a theme.

This chapter guides you through procedures related to applying character and paragraph formatting, structuring content manually, creating and modifying lists, applying styles to text, and changing a document’s theme.

Apply paragraph formatting

A paragraph is created by entering text and then pressing the Enter key. A paragraph can contain one word, one sentence, or multiple sentences. Every paragraph ends with a paragraph mark, which looks like a backward P (¶). Paragraph marks and other structural characters (such as spaces, line breaks, and tabs) are usually hidden, but you can display them. Sometimes displaying these hidden characters makes it easier to accomplish a task or understand a structural problem.

You can change the look of a paragraph by changing its indentation, alignment, and line spacing, in addition to the vertical space before and after it. You can also place borders around it and shade its background. Collectively, the settings you use to vary the look of a paragraph are called paragraph formatting.

You can modify a paragraph’s left and right edge alignment and vertical spacing by using tools on the Home tab of the ribbon, and its left and right indents from the Home tab, the Layout tab, or the ruler. The ruler is often hidden to provide more space for the document content.

If you modify a paragraph and aren’t happy with the changes, you can restore the original paragraph and character settings by clearing the formatting to reset the paragraph to its base style.

When you want to make several adjustments to the alignment, indentation, and spacing of selected paragraphs, it is sometimes quicker to make changes in the Paragraph dialog box than to select buttons and drag markers.

Configure alignment

The alignment settings control the horizontal position of the paragraph text between the page margins. There are four alignment options:

• Align Left This is the default paragraph alignment. It sets the left end of each line of the paragraph at the left page margin or left indent. It results in a straight left edge and a ragged right edge.

• Align Right This sets the right end of each line of the paragraph at the right page margin or right indent. It results in a straight right edge and a ragged left edge.

• Center This centers each line of the paragraph between the left and right page margins or indents. It results in ragged left and ragged right edges.

• Justify This alignment adjusts the spacing between words so that the left end of each line of the paragraph is at the left page margin or indent and the right end of each line of the paragraph (other than the last line) is at the right margin or indent. It results in straight left and right edges.

The icons on the alignment buttons on the ribbon depict the effect of each alignment option.

To open the Paragraph dialog box

• On the Home tab or the Layout tab, in the Paragraph group, select the Paragraph Settings dialog box launcher.

• On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, select the Line and Paragraph Spacing button and then Line Spacing Options.

To set paragraph alignment

• Position the cursor anywhere in the paragraph, or select all the paragraphs you want to adjust. Then do either of the following:

  • On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, select the Align Left, Center, Align Right, or Justify button.

  • Open the Paragraph dialog box. On the Indents and Spacing tab, in the Indentation area, set the right indent in the Right box, and then select OK.

    To align or justify text, move your cursor into the paragraph you want to change, then click the left-align, right-align, centered, or justify buttons.

    

    Alignment is how text flows in relation to the rest of the page (or column, table cell, text box, etc.). 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.

    Left-aligned

    Centered

    Right-aligned

    
    
    
    
    
    

    Justification controls the spacing between words. A justified text increases the space between words to fill the entire line so that it is aligned with both the left and right edges.

    

    Unjustified text

    

    Justified text

    
    

    You can also change the alignment and justification settings in the paragraph dialog box.

    Practice Question

    
    

     

    Paragraph Dialog Box: Justification and Alignment

    Open the paragraph dialog box by clicking the small arrow icon in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph group.

    

    The dropdown menu to change the alignment is near the top of the dialog box.

    

    Indentation

    In many documents, indenting is a good way to distinguish the start of a new paragraph, especially when there is no paragraph spacing.

    To indent, hit the Tab key once on your keyboard at the start of a paragraph.

    

    One tab at the beginning of the first line of a paragraph.

    For more control over indentation settings, use the paragraph dialog box.

    Paragraph Dialog Box: Indentation

    Open the paragraph dialog box by clicking the small arrow icon in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph group.

    

    The indentation section is toward the middle of the dialog box.

    

    The Left and Right settings indent the entire paragraph to the left and right.

    Indentation Comparison
    

    Without indentation

    

    With 1-inch indentation on left and right sides

    The Special dropdown menu allows you to choose to indent the first line of the paragraph or to create a hanging indent. Upon choosing First or Hanging, another field will appear to let you choose how big the first line or hanging indent will be.

    Which of the following refers on how the left and right edges of a paragraph align on a page?

    Alignment: Alignment refers to the way text is arranged in the document between the margins. In horizontal alignment, paragraphs of text can be left aligned (flush against the left margin), right aligned (flush against the right margin), or centered (each line within the paragraph centered between the margins).

    When text is both the left and right edges of the paragraph?

    Text alignment is a paragraph formatting attribute that determines the appearance of the text in a whole paragraph. 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.

    Which button is used to align a paragraph with both the left and right margins?

    Ctrl+J Justify - aligns text to both the left and right margins by adding extra spaces between words.

    Which of the following refers to the placement of paragraph text relative to the left and right margins?

    Horizontal alignment determines how the left and right edges of a paragraph fit between the margins, while vertical alignment determines the placement of the text between the upper and lower margins.