Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 2: Center text horizontally
• Method 2 of 2: Center text vertically
• Tips

Microsoft Word offers a huge range of options for customizing your documents - so great, in fact, that figuring out how to do simple things like centering a text can be difficult. Fortunately, the method is easy to remember once you know it. Simply click the "Center" option under the "Paragraph" label at the top of the page (or press Ctrl + E, a shortcut to switch between centered and left-aligned text).

To step

Method 1 of 2: Center text horizontally

1. Select the text you want to center. If there is already text in the document, you must select it first. Place the mouse cursor at the beginning of the text you want to center. Click and hold the left mouse button. Move the cursor to the end of the text you want to select. The text should now be surrounded by a transparent blue frame.
2. Click the "Center" button in the top toolbar. Follow these instructions:
   • Look at the toolbar at the top of the Word window (the area with all the options). The word "Start" in the top left corner should be selected (this is the default). If not (or if you are not sure), click "Start".
   • Then look under the heading "Paragraph", which is below "Start" and to the right. You should see three small buttons that look like pages with the text aligned left, center, and right.
   • Click the button with the text centered.
3. Deselect the text. The text you selected should now be evenly aligned between the left and right margins. Now click where you want to continue typing and continue with the rest of the document.
   • If the text is not centered, you probably deselected it by mistake before pressing the center button. You should center the text while it is selected, without clicking anywhere else on the page.
4. Click the "Center" button if you haven't typed anything yet. If the document is completely empty, then click the "Center" button as previously indicated and all the text you type will be center-aligned.
   • If you want to add centered text at the end of the document, click at the end of the document, press the enter or return key to start a new line, then click the "Center" button.
5. Or press Ctrl + E. With this key combination you switch back and forth between left-aligned text and centered text. When used with selected text, the text changes to centered (and back when you press the keys again). Using it on an empty line will change the cursor alignment so that the next words you type are centered.
6. Use the other buttons to change the alignment. You can get different text alignments using the buttons next to the "Center" button in the toolbar. They all work in the same way as the middle button. From left to right, the alignment buttons are:
   • Align Left
   • Centering
   • Align right
   • Justify (similar to centering, except that the words are automatically stretched so that all lines are the same width).

Method 2 of 2: Center text vertically

1. Select the text you want to center. This method aligns the text halfway between the top and bottom margins on the page. To start, select the text in the same way as if you were to align it horizontally (see method above).
   • Skip this step if you haven't typed anything yet. When you're done, the text you type will be centered vertically.
2. Open the "Layout" menu. Follow these instructions:
   • Click "Page Setup" in the top toolbar (to the right of the "Home" tab selected by default).
   • Click the "Page Setup" button.
   • In the window that appears, click the "Layout" tab.
3. Select a centered vertical alignment. In the tab you just selected, find the "Align Vertical" box. Select "Center".
4. Apply the changes. Clicking "OK" changes the alignment and returns you to the document. If you want, you can use the options under "Apply to" to change which parts of the document should be vertically centered.
   • For example, if you have selected text that you want to center vertically, make sure you choose the "Selected text" option from the "Apply to" menu.

Tips

• If you are creating a title for the document, you may want to enlarge the text, not just center it. See our article on changing font sizes.
• If you want to emphasize important information, you can make the information bold, italic or underlined in addition to - or instead of - centering. By default, these options are to the left of the alignment options under the "Font" heading.