Text Alignment

Control exactly how text aligns within text boxes and shapes, creating professional, consistent formatting across your presentation.

Horizontal Text Alignment

Text Align Left

Left-aligns text within the text box.

Use Case:

• Body text and paragraphs
• Bullet lists
• Left-reading languages
• Standard documentation

How to Use:

1. Select shapes containing text
2. Click "Text Align Left"
3. Text aligns to the left edge of each text box

Visual Example:

┌─────────────┐
│Text here    │
│More text    │
│Final line   │
└─────────────┘

Best For:

• Long paragraphs
• Lists with multiple items
• Any left-to-right reading text
• Creating a "ragged right" edge

Text Align Center

Centers text horizontally within the text box.

Use Case:

• Headings and titles
• Button labels
• Centered callouts
• Centered quotes

How to Use:

1. Select shapes containing text
2. Click "Text Align Center"
3. Text centers horizontally in each text box

Visual Example:

┌─────────────┐
│  Text here  │
│ More text   │
│ Final line  │
└─────────────┘

Best For:

• Slide titles
• Section headers
• Call-to-action buttons
• Emphasized content

Text Align Right

Right-aligns text within the text box.

Use Case:

• Numerical data
• Dates and times
• Currency amounts
• Right-to-left languages

How to Use:

1. Select shapes containing text
2. Click "Text Align Right"
3. Text aligns to the right edge of each text box

Visual Example:

┌─────────────┐
│    Text here│
│    More text│
│   Final line│
└─────────────┘

Best For:

• Tables with numbers
• Price lists
• Data columns
• Aligning decimal points

Pro Tip for Numbers:

$1,234.56
  $987.65
   $12.34

Right-alignment makes comparing numerical values much easier.

Text Align Justify

Stretches text to fill the full width of the text box.

Use Case:

• Formal documents
• Column layouts
• Magazine-style text
• Professional reports

How to Use:

1. Select shapes containing text
2. Click "Text Align Justify"
3. Text stretches to fill width (except last line)

Visual Example:

┌─────────────┐
│Text fills up│
│the full line│
│width exactly│
│Last line    │
└─────────────┘

Best For:

• Multi-line paragraphs
• Column layouts
• Creating clean edges
• Formal presentations

Vertical Text Alignment

Text Align Top

Aligns text to the top of the text box.

Use Case:

• Standard text boxes
• Multi-paragraph content
• Lists starting from top
• Default text positioning

How to Use:

1. Select shapes containing text
2. Click "Text Align Top"
3. Text aligns to the top edge

Visual Example:

┌─────────────┐
│Text here    │
│             │
│             │
└─────────────┘

Best For:

• Body text
• Long content
• Natural reading flow
• Standard text boxes

Text Align Middle

Centers text vertically within the text box.

Use Case:

• Button labels
• Single-line text
• Badges and labels
• Centered callouts

How to Use:

1. Select shapes containing text
2. Click "Text Align Middle"
3. Text centers vertically

Visual Example:

┌─────────────┐
│             │
│Text here    │
│             │
└─────────────┘

Best For:

• Buttons and CTAs
• Single words or short phrases
• Labels and tags
• Vertically centered layouts

Text Align Bottom

Aligns text to the bottom of the text box.

Use Case:

• Captions
• Footer text
• Bottom-anchored labels
• Subtitle positioning

How to Use:

1. Select shapes containing text
2. Click "Text Align Bottom"
3. Text aligns to the bottom edge

Visual Example:

┌─────────────┐
│             │
│             │
│Text here    │
└─────────────┘

Best For:

• Image captions
• Chart labels
• Footer content
• Bottom-aligned designs

Combining Alignments

You can mix horizontal and vertical alignments for precise control:

Centered Text (Most Common)

Text Align Center + Text Align Middle

Result:

┌─────────────┐
│             │
│  Text here  │
│             │
└─────────────┘

Perfect for: Buttons, badges, callouts

Top-Left (Standard)

Text Align Left + Text Align Top

Result:

┌─────────────┐
│Text here    │
│             │
│             │
└─────────────┘

Perfect for: Body text, paragraphs

Bottom-Right

Text Align Right + Text Align Bottom

Result:

┌─────────────┐
│             │
│             │
│    Text here│
└─────────────┘

Perfect for: Timestamps, footnotes

Centered-Top

Text Align Center + Text Align Top

Result:

┌─────────────┐
│  Text here  │
│             │
│             │
└─────────────┘

Perfect for: Headings, titles

Common Workflows

Formatting Slide Titles

1. Select all title text boxes
2. Text Align Center
3. Text Align Top (or Middle for shorter titles)

Result: Consistent, professional headings

Formatting Body Text

1. Select all body text boxes
2. Text Align Left
3. Text Align Top

Result: Standard, readable text layout

Creating Buttons

1. Create shape with text
2. Text Align Center
3. Text Align Middle

Result: Text perfectly centered in button

Aligning Data Tables

1. Select header cells
2. Text Align Center + Text Align Middle
3. Select data cells
4. Text Align Right (for numbers) or Left (for text)

Result: Professional table formatting

Formatting Captions

1. Select caption text boxes
2. Text Align Center
3. Text Align Bottom

Result: Centered captions below images

Advanced Techniques

Bulk Text Alignment

Format multiple shapes at once:

1. Use Ctrl+Click to select shapes
2. Or: Select all shapes, then filter by text
3. Apply text alignment

All selected shapes update simultaneously.

Alignment Across Slides

Apply consistent alignment throughout presentation:

1. Format text on first slide
2. Use Get Text Formatting
3. Navigate to other slides
4. Select shapes
5. Set Text Formatting

Learn more about Get/Set →

Using AI for Bulk Changes

AI: "Center all headings in the presentation"
AI: "Left-align all bullet points"
AI: "Make all button text centered"

The AI can apply text alignment across your entire presentation.

Text Alignment in Master Slides

For presentation-wide consistency:

1. Edit master slide
2. Format text placeholders with desired alignment
3. All new slides inherit alignment

Text Box Auto-Sizing

Text alignment interacts with auto-sizing:

Auto-Size Enabled

Text box shrinks to fit text—alignment may be less visible

Solution:

1. Disable auto-size
2. Set fixed text box dimensions
3. Then apply alignment

Fixed Size

Text box stays same size—alignment is clearly visible

Best for:

• Buttons with consistent sizes
• Table cells
• Labels with fixed dimensions

Auto-Fit Text

PowerPoint shrinks text to fit box

Note: Text alignment still applies to shrunken text

Troubleshooting

Problem: Text Doesn't Appear Centered

Possible Causes:

• Text box has extra spaces or hidden characters
• Text margins are uneven
• Auto-size is enabled

Solution:

1. Check for extra spaces before/after text
2. Use Get/Set Text Margin to reset margins
3. Disable auto-size

Problem: Justify Creates Large Gaps

Cause: Text line is too short for justify

Solution:

• Use Left alignment for short text
• Only justify paragraphs with multiple long lines

Problem: Vertical Alignment Not Working

Cause: Text box height equals text height (auto-sized)

Solution:

• Disable auto-size
• Manually resize text box to be taller than text

Problem: Alignment Differs Between Shapes

Cause: Inconsistent text box properties

Solution:

1. Format one shape correctly
2. Get Text Margin + Get Text Formatting
3. Select all shapes
4. Set Text Margin + Set Text Formatting

Best Practices

1. Consistency is Key

Use the same alignment for similar elements:

• All headings: Center + Top
• All body text: Left + Top
• All buttons: Center + Middle

2. Consider Readability

• Left-align long paragraphs (easier to read)
• Center short headings and titles
• Right-align numbers for comparison
• Justify only when appropriate

3. Test on Different Screen Sizes

Text alignment may look different on:

• Different slide sizes (4:3 vs 16:9)
• Projected screens vs computer monitors
• Mobile devices

4. Use Templates

Create templates with pre-aligned text boxes:

1. Set up perfect alignment
2. Save as template
3. Reuse for consistency

5. Combine with Shape Alignment

Don't forget to also align the shapes:

1. Align shapes (Align, Distribute)
2. Then align text within shapes

Quick Reference Table

What's Next?