How to Center Text in Word (Horizontally and Vertically)

To center text in Word, select it and click Center in the Paragraph group on the Home tab, or press Ctrl+E. To center text up and down on the page, like on a title page, open the Page Setup dialog from the Layout tab, select the Layout tab in that dialog, and set Vertical alignment to Center.

These are two separate settings. The Center button only moves text left and right. It never moves text down the page, so a title that should sit in the exact middle of a page needs both.

What You Need

The steps follow Microsoft’s support article on aligning and centering text on a page, and they are written for the Word desktop app on Windows in current versions such as Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, and Word 2021. Mac and web differences have their own section below.

• Horizontal centering works in the desktop apps and in Word for the web.
• Vertical centering of page text needs the desktop app. Microsoft’s instructions for Word for the web and the mobile apps say to switch to the full desktop version for it.
• The document has to be one you can edit. If it opened as read-only or protected, the alignment controls may not respond until editing is allowed.

How to Center Text Horizontally in Word

Horizontal centering places each line an equal distance from the left and right margins. It is the right choice for titles, headings, invitations, and short quotes. To make a centered title stand out further, you can also format it in small caps in Word.

1. Select the text you want to center. To center a single paragraph, you can simply click anywhere inside it.
2. Select the Home tab at the top of the window.
3. In the Paragraph group, select Center. It is one of the four alignment buttons that show small stacked lines.

Result: The text moves to the middle of the line, with uneven edges on both sides. The Center button stays highlighted while your cursor is in centered text, which is a quick way to confirm the setting.

Use the keyboard shortcut

Microsoft lists Ctrl+E as the shortcut to center a paragraph on Windows. The matching shortcuts are Ctrl+L for left, Ctrl+R for right, and Ctrl+J for justified. See the full list in Microsoft’s Word keyboard shortcuts.

Use the Paragraph dialog

You can also set alignment in a dialog box. On the Home tab, select the Dialog Box Launcher (the small arrow in the corner of the Paragraph group), stay on the Indents and Spacing tab, open the Alignment drop-down menu, pick the centered option, and select OK. This is handy when you are already changing spacing or indents.

Center text before you type

Alignment belongs to the paragraph, not to individual words. Click on an empty line, select Center, and whatever you type there is centered. When you press Enter, the next paragraph keeps the same alignment, so press Ctrl+L when you want to go back to normal left-aligned text.

How to Center Text Vertically on the Page

Vertical alignment sets the up and down position of text between the top and bottom margins. Microsoft gives a title on its own page as the typical use.

Before you start: this is a page layout setting, not a paragraph setting. The Apply to box in step 4 decides how much of the document changes. If you leave it on the whole document, every page is centered vertically, and any page that is not full of text will shift.

1. Select the text you want to center, such as the title and subtitle on your first page.
2. Select the Layout tab (named Page Layout in some versions). In the Page Setup group, select the Dialog Box Launcher, the small arrow in the bottom corner of the group.
3. In the Page Setup dialog, select the Layout tab. In the Vertical alignment box, select Center.
4. In the Apply to box, choose Selected text, then select OK.

Result: The selected text sits halfway between the top and bottom margins. Text that fills a whole page will not look any different, because there is no empty space to share out.

Center a title in both directions

For a title in the middle of the page, do both jobs: press Ctrl+E to center it left to right, then follow the four steps above to center it top to bottom. The order does not matter.

Center only one page

Page layout settings in Word apply to sections. A section is a part of the document that can have its own layout, and a section break is the marker that divides one section from the next. When you choose Selected text, Word should keep the change to that text by placing it in its own section, so check the pages before and after it once you select OK.

If you prefer to control this yourself, click at the end of the title page, go to Layout > Breaks, and choose Next Page. Microsoft’s section break instructions explain that this starts the new section on the following page. Then click in the title page, open the Page Setup dialog again, and check that Apply to names the section and not the whole document. Our guide to making only one page landscape in Word uses the same section technique.

Use a ready-made cover page instead

If you just want a designed title page, Microsoft suggests Insert > Cover Page in the Pages group. Pick a design and replace the sample text. A cover page is always added to the beginning of the open document. There is more on this in our guide to adding a page in Word.

How to Center Text in Word for Mac and Word for the Web

The idea is the same, but a few labels and menus differ.

Version	Center left to right	Center top to bottom
Word for Windows	Home > Center, or Ctrl+E	Layout > Page Setup launcher > Layout tab > Vertical alignment
Word for Mac	Home > Center Text, or Command+E	Format menu > Document > Layout tab > Vertical alignment
Word for the web	Home > Center, or Ctrl+E	Not available; open the file in the desktop app

On a Mac, Microsoft’s alignment article for Word for Mac says to click anywhere in the paragraph and select Center Text on the Home tab. For vertical centering, the Format menu is in the menu bar at the very top of the screen, not in the Word ribbon.

How to Center Text in a Table Cell or Text Box

Text inside a table or a text box does not follow the page’s vertical alignment. Each container has its own control.

Table cell

1. Click in the cell, or select several cells.
2. Press Ctrl+E or select Home > Center to center the text left to right within the cell.
3. To center it top to bottom, right-click the cell and choose Table Properties.
4. Select the Cell tab. Under Vertical alignment, choose Center, then select OK.

Result: The text sits in the middle of the cell. Microsoft’s table properties article lists Top as the default, with Center and Bottom as the other choices. Be sure you are on the Cell tab: the Alignment options on the Table tab move the whole table left, center, or right on the page instead. The table’s own Layout tab on the ribbon may also show alignment buttons that do both jobs in one click, depending on your version.

Text box or shape

1. Select the text in the box and select Center on the Home tab to center it left to right.
2. Right-click the border of the text box or shape and select Format Shape.
3. In the Format Shape pane, select Size/Layout & Properties.
4. In the Vertical alignment list, choose the middle option.

These Windows steps come from Microsoft’s article on positioning text in a shape or text box. On a Mac, select the box, then use Shape Format > Format Pane > Shape Options > Text Box and choose Middle. This centers the text inside the box. It does not move the box itself; our guide to wrapping text around a picture in Word covers how objects sit on the page.

How to Undo Centering

• Right away: press Ctrl+Z to undo the last change.
• Horizontal: select the text and choose Align Left on the Home tab, or press Ctrl+L.
• Vertical: open the Page Setup dialog again, select the Layout tab, and set Vertical alignment back to Top. Check Apply to so you reset the same part of the document.

Troubleshooting

• The text looks off-center. Centering is measured between the margins and the paragraph’s indents, not the paper edges. Remove extra spaces or tabs at the start of the line, check for a first-line indent in the Paragraph dialog, and compare the left and right margins. Our guide to setting 1-inch margins in Word shows where they are.
• Every page moved down. Vertical alignment was applied to the whole document. Undo it, select only the title text, and choose Selected text in Apply to.
• The vertical position is not quite in the middle. Delete empty paragraphs above or below the text. Word counts them as content, so they push the text away from center.
• You cannot find Vertical alignment. It is on the Layout tab inside the Page Setup dialog, not on the Layout tab of the ribbon. In Word for the web, open the document in the desktop app first.
• Table text will not move up or down. Use Table Properties > Cell, as described above. The page setting does not affect cells.
• The buttons do nothing. The document may be read-only or restricted. Look for a message bar under the ribbon that offers to enable editing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the shortcut to center text in Word?

Press Ctrl+E on Windows or in Word for the web, and Command+E on a Mac. It centers the current paragraph, or all selected paragraphs, between the left and right margins. It does not center text vertically.

Why does only part of my text center?

Microsoft describes alignment as a paragraph formatting setting that applies to the whole paragraph. If only some lines move, the others are separate paragraphs. Select all of them before selecting Center.

Should I press Enter several times to push a title to the middle of the page?

It is better not to. Blank lines shift whenever you change the font size, spacing, or paper size, so the title drifts. The Vertical alignment setting in the Page Setup dialog keeps the text centered when the page changes.

What is the difference between centered and justified text?

Centered text is balanced around the middle, with ragged edges on both sides. Microsoft explains that justified text extends each line from the left margin to the right margin, giving straight edges on both sides, though the last line of the paragraph can be much shorter.

Can I center text vertically in Word on a phone or in a browser?

You can center text left to right there, but not top to bottom on the page. Microsoft directs people using Word for the web and the mobile apps to the full desktop version of Word for vertical page alignment.

Next Step

With the title page centered, you can finish its look by framing it. See how to add or change page borders in Word, which uses the same section-based Apply to choices.