What is the shortcut key for justify?

Sometimes, a document that you’re creating may call for different text layouts. The standard layout is for the text to be aligned to the left. Other layouts that can be set up are centred text, where text will be placed in the centre of the document, right aligned where the text will be aligned to the right of the document and justified text, where the text will be aligned to the left and the right.

This guide explains how to align text in Word 2016 for other versions please visit the Microsoft Support site.

You’ll need:

• A computer with Microsoft Word installed.

Follow these step-by-step instructions to centre, left align, right align and justify text

Step 1: Open an existing Word document or start a new document and type your text. The default layout is left align, where text will be aligned to the left margin of the document.

Step 2: To change the layout of your text, select the text that you wish to change by using the mouse or keyboard shortcuts.

Step 3: To centre the selected text, click on the ‘centre text’ icon in the formatting ribbon at the top of the document.

Step 4: To right align the selected text, click on the ‘right align’ icon. This will move all highlighted text so that it’s aligned to the right.

Step 5: To ‘justify’ text so that it is aligned to both right and left, click on the ‘justify’ icon.

Step 6: It’s also possible to change selected text using a combination of keyboard shortcuts, which some people find easier than using the mouse.

• To make text centred, select and highlight the text first, then hold down Ctrl (the control key) on the keyboard and press E.
• To make text right aligned, select and highlight the text first, then hold down Ctrl (the control key) on the keyboard and then press R.
• To make text justified, select and highlight the text first, then hold down Ctrl (the control key) on the keyboard and then press J.
• To make the text left aligned again, press and hold down Ctrl on the keyboard and press L.

Last updated 3rd June 2019

No matter what you are writing, a fictional book, a story for kids, a user manual, or a technical report, jumping between the text and ribbon buttons for formatting distracts from the work. Shortcut Keys or Hotkeys for changing the paragraph alignment, style, etc. without mouse movements come to rescue.

To align paragraphs, follow these steps:

   1.   Position the insertion point into the paragraph or select the paragraphs that you want to align.

   2.   Do one of the following:

• Click the alignment button on the Home tab, in the Paragraph group to align left/right, center, or justify the paragraph text or press one of the shortcut keys:

  	Ctrl+L   Align Left    - aligns text to the left margin, and the right margin is ragged. This is the default setting.
  	Ctrl+E   Center    - centers text between margins.
  	Ctrl+R   Align Right    – aligns text to the right margin, and the left margin is ragged.
  	Ctrl+J   Justify    - aligns text to both the left and right margins by adding extra spaces between words.

• Choose Paragraph... from the shortcut menu (right-click or press Shift+F10), to display the Paragraph dialog box:

  On the Indents and Spacing tab, choose the alignment option from the Alignment list and then click OK:

Adjusting line spacing

To adjust spacing between lines, follow these steps:

   1.   Position the insertion point in the paragraph or select the paragraphs that you want to adjust.

   2.   Do one of the following:

• On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Line Spacing Options...:

• Choose Paragraph... from the shortcut menu to open the Paragraph dialog box. On the Indentation and Spacing tab, in the Line Spacing list box, choose one of the options:
  • Single - Single-line spacing. (Line height automatically adjusts to accommodate the size of the font and any graphics or formulas in a line.)
  • 1.5 Lines - Line-and-one-half spacing (an extra half-line of space between lines).
  • Double - Double-spacing (an extra full line of space between lines).
  • At Least - At least the spacing that you specify in the At box-the line won't be smaller than you specify, but it may be higher because Word will add extra spacing for tall characters, big graphics, and superscript or subscript text.
  • Exactly - The exact spacing that you specify in the At box. All lines have the exact same height, regardless of the size of the characters in the line; Word doesn't add extra spacing. Note that some text may be cut off if not enough space is available.
  • Multiple - Multiples of single-line spacing, such as triple (3) or quadruple (4), as specified in the At box.

  To specify a custom line spacing, type the spacing amount that you want in the At box. For example, enter 1.25 for an extra quarter line of space between lines, or click the up or down arrow to increase or decrease the amount in half-line increments. When you finish, click OK.

• Press one of the shortcut key combinations:
  • Ctrl+l - Single-spacing
  • Ctrl+5 - 1.5-line spacing
  • Ctrl+2 - Double-spacing
  • Ctrl+0 (zero) - Add or remove 12 points of space before a paragraph.

Apply paragraph styles

To change paragraph styles, follow these steps:

   1.   Position the insertion point into the paragraph or select the paragraphs that you want to change.

   2.   Do one of the following:

• Choose the style in the in the Styles group, on the Home tab:

• Press one of the shortcut key combinations:
  • Alt+Ctrl+1 - Apply the Heading 1 style
  • Alt+Ctrl+2 - Apply the Heading 2 style
  • Alt+Ctrl+3 - Apply the Heading 3 style
  • Ctrl+Shift+N - Apply the Normal style
  • Ctrl+Shift+L - Apply the List style

Remove paragraph formatting by pressing Ctrl+Q to revert the text format to the current style's default settings or Ctrl+Shift+N to apply the Normal style to the paragraph.

See also this tip in French: Comment changer le format de paragraphe avec les raccourcis claviers.