Forum Discussion
Splitting alignment on the same line in Word
I'm trying to do something that I can't figure out how to do, I'm not even sure it's even possible. I'm trying to split the alignment on a single line so that a few words are left aligned and then a few words are right aligned, leaving a large gap in between. I have it set up right now with tabs, but the second set of words on the right-hand side are a different length and does not have the effect that's needed for the document. There are numerous lines that have this formatting and even thinking about the time required to set up customized tabs and spacing for each individual line threatens to give me an anxiety attack. Is there a way to split the alignment on a single line and I'm just missing how? Thank you in advance!
This is the top google result for this question. I can't bear the fact that it is incorrect. There IS a very easy way to do this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvZxO93MApE&ab_channel=SterlingMillerEnjoy
- Thank you so much, this was really helpful
- this is awesome!
it organized my CV with minimum efforthassuunna To layout a document such as a CV, the best option is usually to use a table.
Thank you both for replying. I just figured out a workaround, at 5:45 am, that actually is effective and time efficient. Each line that I am needing to split the alignment on is separated by one or more paragraphs, which was making the issue even more tricky.
What I ended up doing was highlighting the line that I wanted to have split alignment, went to Insert > Table > Insert Table. Since I already had the to sections split by a single tab, this created a 2 cell table. I then, under Table Design, chose No Borders, moved over to Table Layout > Cell Margins and reduced both the left and right margins to 0". This left me with the line I was editing looking like a normal line, not a table. Lastly, I chose the second cell and, under Home, clicked Align Right.
Having close to 100 lines to do like this, it was getting annoying doing this for every single line individually, so I figured out how to record a Macro, problem solved. Thank you for the help!
Hi marcodel
Great to hear you have a solution that works for you. At the end of the day that's the most important thing!
Best wishes for the future.
Cheers
Damien
Damien_Rosario hi, My search for this design was driven by the text below. can you help on this. I'll appreciate.
For future reference:
First: setting up the required tab
Is this the look you want words on left, a space and words extending from right margin?
When you know how, it is trivial to setup. When it is set, you just use one tab character to space the lines, Word will handle the alignment.
#1 click on the Paragraph dialog launcher
#2 click on the tabs button in bottom right of the paragraph dialog
#3 the end result will be the right align tab shown at #3
#4 enter a value for the "right align" tab, I used 6.94
#5 click on "right align"
#5a (no number on picture) click on Set button to save this tab
This setting is saved in the current line paragraph mark. If you want to reuse it in the future, save it as a Style.
To use it, type the first words, <TAB> second set of words. That is it.
Second: setting up your table.
You could convert all of your lines to a table at once.
Select all of the lines
Click on Insert tab > Tables group > Tables drop down > Convert text to table
At bottom of dialog, click on Separate at tabs. This will reset number of columns to 2
Click on OK to create the table.
After that you could do the same formatting, turning off border display etc.
What if you use the Insert menu, and insert a text box? After sizing the text box, delete the sample text inside it.
George D.
Hi marcodel
Unfortunately there's no way to do it other than the Tabs which is what you have tried.
A couple of creative options come to mind, you could try to to use a 3 column table, size it as required, remove the lines, and that should help.
You could also try splitting the game into 3 columns and using Breaks (e.g. Continuous Break) to help manage the content, but it is a bit messy and will require some trial and error to see if that works for you.
Let us know how you go?
Cheers
Damien
For more on tabs and tab stops, see http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/SettingTabs.htm.
Using a table would be the alternative, as you have already found. 🙂
Hi marcodel!
I know I am late to this thread, but maybe it can be useful for someone else!
You just need to select the lines/paragraphs or if you want to split the whole document, you do not need to select anything. Then go to Layout and select Columns. From here you can split everything you have selected or the whole document into as many parts as you would like!
I hope you found this helpful 🙂
