Wrap, justify, or pad text to a fixed width?

Choose the width tool that matches the output: reflowed paragraphs, even edges, or a rigid character grid.

Four tools react to a width limit in different ways. Wrapping reflows words, justifying also stretches spaces, padding adds characters to short lines, and limiting rewraps only the lines that overflow. Pick by what the destination expects to receive.

Wrap when the text must reflow naturally

Word Wrap breaks lines at a chosen character count, preferring spaces and only splitting inside a word when necessary. Use it for emails, plain-text notes and terminals where a long line would be unreadable.

Justify when both edges must line up

Justify Text wraps to the width and then distributes extra spaces so the right edge is even. It suits monospaced displays and ASCII layouts; in proportional fonts the gaps can look uneven and long words may create rivers.

Pad or centre when the grid itself matters

Pad Text adds a chosen character to the left or right until every line reaches the same width, while Center Text pads both sides. Use these for tables of contents, ASCII art and fixed-width reports, not for prose.

Tools covered in this guide

Word Wrap
Wrap text at a chosen character width, breaking at spaces or inside long words.
Justify Text
Wrap text to a width and distribute spaces so both edges line up.
Pad Text
Pad every line to a fixed width with spaces or any single character.
Center Text
Center each line horizontally by padding both sides with spaces to a fixed width.
Line Length Limiter
Rewrap only the lines that exceed a width, leaving shorter lines untouched.
Tabs to Spaces
Convert tabs to spaces at a fixed width, or align them to tab stops.

Frequently asked questions about text width

What is the difference between wrapping and limiting line length?

Wrapping rewraps the whole text to a width. The limiter only touches lines that already exceed the limit, leaving shorter lines exactly as written.

Does padding delete long lines?

No. Padding only adds characters to lines shorter than the target; lines at or above the width are left alone, so it cannot truncate content.

Why does justified text look uneven in some fonts?

Justification stretches spaces to fill the line. In a proportional font those gaps are more visible than in a monospaced one, especially next to long words.