Justify Text Alignment¶
Justify text with left, right, or center alignment using the standard library.
10 snippets available in this sub-category.
Simple¶
Left justify text¶
string justify left ljust width text
Left justify text to specified width
def left_justify(text, width, char=" "):
"""Left justify text to specified width."""
return text.ljust(width, char)
text = "Hello"
result = left_justify(text, 15, "*")
print(f"'{result}'") # 'Hello**********'
Notes
- Uses str.ljust() method
- Aligns text to left
- Pads with specified character
- Common text formatting
Right justify text¶
string justify right rjust width text
Right justify text to specified width
def right_justify(text, width, char=" "):
"""Right justify text to specified width."""
return text.rjust(width, char)
text = "Hello"
result = right_justify(text, 15, "*")
print(f"'{result}'") # '**********Hello'
Notes
- Uses str.rjust() method
- Aligns text to right
- Pads with specified character
- Useful for number formatting
Center justify text¶
string justify center center width text
Center justify text to specified width
def center_justify(text, width, char=" "):
"""Center justify text to specified width."""
return text.center(width, char)
text = "Hello"
result = center_justify(text, 15, "*")
print(f"'{result}'") # '*****Hello*****'
Notes
- Uses str.center() method
- Aligns text to center
- Pads with specified character
- Balanced formatting
Complex¶
Justify with custom alignment¶
string justify alignment flexible width text
Justify text with flexible alignment options
def justify_text(text, width, align="left", char=" "):
"""Justify text with specified alignment."""
if align == "left":
return text.ljust(width, char)
elif align == "right":
return text.rjust(width, char)
elif align == "center":
return text.center(width, char)
else:
raise ValueError("Alignment must be 'left', 'right', or 'center'")
text = "Hello"
result = justify_text(text, 15, "right", "*")
print(result) # "**********Hello"
Notes
- Single function for all alignments
- Error handling for invalid alignment
- Consistent interface
- Easy to use
Justify multiline text¶
string justify multiline lines width text
Justify each line of multiline text
def justify_multiline(text, width, align="left", char=" "):
"""Justify each line of multiline text."""
lines = text.split("\n")
justified_lines = []
for line in lines:
if align == "left":
justified_lines.append(line.ljust(width, char))
elif align == "right":
justified_lines.append(line.rjust(width, char))
elif align == "center":
justified_lines.append(line.center(width, char))
return "\n".join(justified_lines)
text = "Hello\nWorld\nPython"
result = justify_multiline(text, 20, "right", "*")
print(result)
# "***************Hello"
# "***************World"
# "**************Python"
Notes
- Processes each line separately
- Maintains line breaks
- Consistent alignment per line
- Useful for text blocks
Justify with word wrapping¶
string justify wrap textwrap width text
Justify text with word wrapping
import textwrap
def justify_wrapped_text(text, width, align="left", char=" "):
"""Justify text with word wrapping."""
# Wrap text to fit width
wrapped_lines = textwrap.wrap(text, width=width)
# Justify each wrapped line
justified_lines = []
for line in wrapped_lines:
if align == "left":
justified_lines.append(line.ljust(width, char))
elif align == "right":
justified_lines.append(line.rjust(width, char))
elif align == "center":
justified_lines.append(line.center(width, char))
return "\n".join(justified_lines)
text = "This is a long text that needs to be wrapped and justified properly"
result = justify_wrapped_text(text, 30, "center", "*")
print(result)
Notes
- Combines wrapping and justification
- Handles long text gracefully
- Maintains readability
- Complex text formatting
Justify with truncation¶
string justify truncate width ellipsis text
Justify text or truncate if too long
def justify_text(text, width, align="left", char=" "):
# See above defined dunction
pass
def justify_or_truncate(text, width, align="left", char=" ", truncate_char="..."):
"""Justify text or truncate if too long."""
if len(text) > width:
if align == "left":
return text[: width - len(truncate_char)] + truncate_char
elif align == "right":
return truncate_char + text[-(width - len(truncate_char)) :]
else: # center
half_width = (width - len(truncate_char)) // 2
return text[:half_width] + truncate_char + text[-(half_width):]
else:
return justify_text(text, width, align, char)
text = "This is a very long string that needs truncation"
result = justify_or_truncate(text, 20, "center", "*")
print(result) # "This is...truncation"
Notes
- Uses justify_text
- Handles strings longer than width
- Uses ellipsis for truncation
- Maintains alignment preference
- Prevents overflow
Justify with custom width calculation¶
string justify custom width function text
Justify text using custom width calculation
def justify_custom_width(text, width, align="left", char=" ", width_func=len):
"""Justify text using custom width calculation."""
# Calculate width using custom function
text_width = width_func(text)
# Calculate padding needed
padding_needed = width - text_width
if padding_needed <= 0:
return text
if align == "left":
return text + char * padding_needed
elif align == "right":
return char * padding_needed + text
else: # center
left_pad = padding_needed // 2
right_pad = padding_needed - left_pad
return char * left_pad + text + char * right_pad
# Example: Justify with visual width (ignoring control characters)
def visual_width(text):
"""Calculate visual width ignoring control characters."""
import re
clean_text = re.sub(r"\x1b\[[0-9;]*m", "", text)
return len(clean_text)
colored_text = "\033[32mHello\033[0m"
result = justify_custom_width(colored_text, 15, "center", width_func=visual_width)
print(f"'{result}'") # ' Hello '
Notes
- Custom width calculation
- Flexible width function
- Useful for special cases
- Advanced formatting control
Justify with alignment bias¶
string justify bias alignment width text
Justify text with alignment bias
def justify_with_bias(text, width, align="left", char=" ", bias=0):
"""Justify text with alignment bias."""
padding_needed = width - len(text)
if padding_needed <= 0:
return text
if align == "left":
return text + char * padding_needed
elif align == "right":
return char * padding_needed + text
else: # center
# Apply bias to centering
base_left = padding_needed // 2
left_pad = max(0, min(padding_needed, base_left + bias))
right_pad = padding_needed - left_pad
return char * left_pad + text + char * right_pad
text = "Hello"
result = justify_with_bias(text, 15, "center", "*", bias=2)
print(result) # "*******Hello****"
Notes
- Custom alignment bias
- Fine-tune positioning
- Useful for visual balance
- Advanced formatting
Justify with Unicode support¶
string justify unicode characters width text
Justify text with Unicode character support
def justify_unicode(text, width, align="left", char=" "):
"""Justify text with proper Unicode handling."""
if align == "left":
return text.ljust(width, char)
elif align == "right":
return text.rjust(width, char)
else: # center
return text.center(width, char)
text = "Hello世界" # Contains Unicode
result = justify_unicode(text, 15, "center", "·")
print(result) # "····Hello世界····"
Notes
- Handles Unicode characters correctly
- Uses built-in str methods
- Supports Unicode padding chars
- International text support
🔗 Cross-References¶
- Reference: See 📂 Format String
- Reference: See 📂 Wrap Text
🏷️ Tags¶
string, justify, left, right, center, alignment, multiline, width, text
📝 Notes¶
- Use str.ljust(), str.rjust(), and str.center() for alignment
- Multiline and flexible alignment supported
- Related: formatting and wrapping text