Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Flush Left and Flush Right On the Same Line.

Flush Left and Flush Right On the Same Line

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 16, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

This is a quick and dirty tip on how to have seemingly contradictory alignments on the same line. In Word, this trick is done with tabs. In a nutshell, you follow these steps:

  1. Make sure the paragraph is formatted as left-aligned.
  2. Choose the Tabs option from the Format menu. Word displays the Tabs dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Tabs dialog box.

  4. Insert a right-aligned tab near the right edge of the line.
  5. Click on Set.
  6. Click on OK.
  7. Type your text. Press the Tab key between the information to be left-aligned and the information you want right-aligned.

This trick works great if the information you are formatting is limited to a single line. As an example, this can easily work for a chapter name and page number in a header or footer. (You know; the chapter name appears at the left and the page number at the right.) If you need to accomplish the same task for multiple lines, then it is best to use a small table with two or three cells. The left-most cell of the table can be for the left-aligned information, and the right-most cell can be used for right-aligned information. The center cell (if you choose to use one) is used for spacing purposes.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1000) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Flush Left and Flush Right On the Same Line.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Saving All Open Workbooks

Wouldn't it be nice to have a single command that would save each of you open workbooks, all at once? It's easy to do ...

Discover More

Changing Excel's Background Color

Excel does not provide a built-in way to change the background color used in a worksheet. You can, however, try a few ...

Discover More

Using Last-page Headers and Footers

Headers and footers add a nice touch to your documents, particularly if they are printed. You may want Word to use a ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Removing Tabs Used to Indent a Paragraph

You get a document from a colleague and you notice that each paragraph starts with a tab character. Here are a couple of ...

Discover More

Changing Default Tab Stops

If you don't explicitly set tab stops in a paragraph, Word relies upon a default tab stop distance. You can adjust that ...

Discover More

Deleting All Tab Stops

Tab stops can be helpful when you want to align text within a paragraph. However, you might also want an easy way to get ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two less than 9?

2021-08-21 19:54:20

Confused

How do I Insert a right-aligned tab near the right edge of the line? Instructions are not clear. I see figure 1. After that, what do I type in the "tab stop position" field?


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.