Alignment and indentation

Text reads best lined up on the left, which is where it starts. Alignment and indentation are for the exceptions: a centered line of thanks at the end of an announcement, or a note tucked in under the paragraph it belongs to. Both apply to whole paragraphs and headings, not to a few words.

Alignment

Left. Where every paragraph starts, and right for almost all of them.

Centered. For a short line that stands on its own, such as a closing line.

Right. For a signature, or a date at the end of a letter.

Justified. Both edges straight, like a printed book. The spaces between words stretch to make each line fill the width, which reads well in long paragraphs on a wide page and poorly in a narrow column, where the gaps grow large.

Choose Alignment on the toolbar, or use a shortcut:

Indentation

The main point of a section, as a normal paragraph.

A detail that belongs to it, indented one step.

A detail of that detail, two steps in.

Indent and Outdent on the toolbar, or Ctrl+] and Ctrl+[, move a paragraph or heading in or out by one step, up to four steps.

On a Mac, use ⌘ where the shortcuts say Ctrl. Clear formatting (Ctrl+\) puts a paragraph back to the left with no indent.