Formatting paragraphs

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You can apply many formats to paragraphs using the buttons on the Formatting toolbar. The Formatting toolbar is shown below as a floating toolbar, customized to show only the buttons for paragraph formatting.

Tip.png It is highly recommended that you use paragraph styles rather than manually formatting paragraphs, especially for long or standardized documents. For information on the advantages of styles and how to use them, see Chapter 6 and Chapter 7.


Formatting toolbar, showing icons for character formatting.
1 Styles and Formatting window   8 Line Spacing: 1.5
2 Apply Style 9 Line Spacing: 2
3 Align Left 10 Numbering On/Off
4 Centered 11 Bullets On/Off
5 Align Right 12 Decrease Indent
6 Justified 13 Increase Indent
7 Line Spacing: 1 14 Paragraph Format dialog

Below are examples of the different alignment options for text.

Text alignment options.

When using justified text, the last line is by default aligned to the left; however, if so desired, you can also align the last line to the center of the paragraph area or justify it so that spaces are inserted between the words in order to fill the whole line. In the case where the last line consists of a single word, you can also have this word stretched to cover the whole line. The figure below shows an example of the effect obtained when setting each of these options.

Four choices for the last line of a justified paragraph.

These options are controlled in the Alignment page of the Format > Paragraph dialog box.

Options for the last line of a justified paragraph.

Setting tab stops and indents

The horizontal ruler shows both the default tab stops and any tab stops that you have defined. Tab settings affect indentation of full paragraphs (using the Increase Indent and Decrease Indent icons on the Formatting toolbar) as well as indentation of parts of a paragraph (by pressing the Tab key on the keyboard).

Using the default tab spacing can cause formatting problems if you share documents with other people. If you use the default tab spacing and then send the document to someone else who has chosen a different default tab spacing, tabbed material will change to use the other person’s settings. This may cause major formatting problems.

Instead of using the defaults, define your own tab settings, as described in this section.

To set your own tab stops for one or more selected paragraphs, use the Tabs page of the Paragraph dialog box. To reach this page, you can either:

  • Double-click anywhere between the left and right indent icons on the ruler itself to open the Tabs page of the Paragraph dialog box, or
  • Right-click on the paragraph, choose Paragraph from the pop-up menu, and choose the Tabs page.

Similarly, you can change the tabs defined in the paragraph style. Right-click on the paragraph, choose Edit Paragraph Style from the pop-up menu, and choose the Tabs page. See Chapter 7 (Working with Styles) for more information.

Tab Settings page of Paragraph Dialog Box.

To change the indentation of one or more selected paragraphs, use the Indents & Spacing page of the Paragraph dialog box. To reach this page, you can either:

  • Double-click on a part of the ruler that is not between the left and right indent icons, or
  • Right-click on the paragraph, choose Paragraph from the pop-up menu, and choose the Indents & Spacing page.

Similarly, you can change the indentation defined in the paragraph style. Right-click on the paragraph, choose Edit Paragraph Style from the pop-up menu, and choose the Indents & Spacing page. See Chapter 7 (Working with Styles) for more information.

Indents & Spacing Settings page of Paragraph Dialog Box.


Tip.png Depending on what you are trying to accomplish a borderless table is often a better choice than using tabs.


Changing the default tab stop interval

Documentation note.png Any changes to the default tab setting will affect the existing default tab stops in any document you open afterward, as well as tab stops you insert after making the change.

To set the measurement unit and the spacing of default tab stops, go to Tools > Options > OpenOffice.org Writer > General. On this page, make any required changes in the Settings section and click OK to save.

Selecting a measurement unit and default tab stop spacing.

You can also set or change the measurement unit for rulers in the current document by right-clicking on the ruler to open a list of units. Click on one of them to change the ruler to that unit. The selected setting applies only to that ruler.

Ruler showing default tab stops.

The horizontal ruler shows both the default tab stops and any that you have defined.


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