Pad String to Width¶

Pad a string to a specified width using the standard library.

8 snippets available in this sub-category.

Simple¶

Pad string with spaces¶

string pad width spaces alignment text

Pad string to specified width with spaces

def pad_string(text, width, align="left"):
    """Pad string to specified width with spaces."""
    if align == "left":
        return text.ljust(width)
    elif align == "right":
        return text.rjust(width)
    else:  # center
        return text.center(width)


text = "Hello"
result = pad_string(text, 10, "left")
print(f"'{result}'")  # 'Hello     '

Notes

Uses str.ljust(), rjust(), center()
Default alignment is left
Pads with spaces
Simple width formatting

Pad with custom character¶

string pad custom character width text

Pad string with custom character

def pad_with_char(text, width, char=" ", align="left"):
    """Pad string with custom character."""
    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"
result = pad_with_char(text, 10, "*", "center")
print(result)  # "**Hello***"

Notes

Uses custom padding character
Supports all alignments
Useful for formatting
Visual separation

Complex¶

Pad with multiple characters¶

string pad pattern repeating width text

Pad string with repeating pattern

def pad_with_pattern(text, width, pattern, align="left"):
    """Pad string with repeating pattern."""
    if len(pattern) == 0:
        pattern = " "

    # Calculate how much padding is needed
    padding_needed = width - len(text)
    if padding_needed <= 0:
        return text

    # Create padding by repeating pattern
    full_patterns = padding_needed // len(pattern)
    remaining = padding_needed % len(pattern)
    padding = pattern * full_patterns + pattern[:remaining]

    if align == "left":
        return text + padding
    elif align == "right":
        return padding + text
    else:  # center
        left_pad = padding[: len(padding) // 2]
        right_pad = padding[len(padding) // 2 :]
        return left_pad + text + right_pad


text = "Hello"
result = pad_with_pattern(text, 12, "*-", "center")
print(result)  # "*-*-Hello*-*"

Notes

Uses repeating pattern for padding
Handles pattern length calculations
Supports all alignments
Complex visual formatting

Pad with truncation¶

string pad truncate width ellipsis text

Pad string or truncate if too long

def pad_with_char(text, width, char=" ", align="left"):
    # See above defined function
    pass

def pad_or_truncate(text, width, char=" ", align="left", truncate_char="..."):
    """Pad string 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 pad_with_char(text, width, char, align)


text = "This is a very long string"
result = pad_or_truncate(text, 15, "*", "center")
print(result)  # "This is...string"

Notes

uses pad_with_char
Handles strings longer than width
Uses ellipsis for truncation
Maintains alignment
Prevents overflow

Pad with color codes¶

string pad color codes ansi text

Pad string while preserving color codes

def pad_with_color(text, width, color_code="", align="left"):
    """Pad string while preserving color codes."""
    # Remove color codes for length calculation
    import re

    clean_text = re.sub(r"\x1b\[[0-9;]*m", "", text)

    # Calculate padding needed
    padding_needed = width - len(clean_text)
    if padding_needed <= 0:
        return text

    padding = " " * padding_needed

    if align == "left":
        return text + padding
    elif align == "right":
        return padding + text
    else:  # center
        left_pad = padding[: len(padding) // 2]
        right_pad = padding[len(padding) // 2 :]
        return left_pad + text + right_pad


# Example with ANSI color codes
colored_text = "\033[32mHello\033[0m"  # Green text
result = pad_with_color(colored_text, 15, align="center")
print(f"'{result}'")  # '     Hello     ' (with color preserved)

Notes

Preserves ANSI color codes
Calculates length without codes
Maintains visual formatting
Useful for terminal output

Pad with Unicode characters¶

string pad unicode characters width text

Pad string with Unicode character support

def pad_with_unicode(text, width, char=" ", align="left"):
    """Pad string handling Unicode characters properly."""
    # Use str methods that handle Unicode correctly
    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 = pad_with_unicode(text, 12, "·", "center")
print(result)  # "··Hello世界···"

Notes

Handles Unicode characters correctly
Uses built-in str methods
Supports Unicode padding chars
International text support

Pad with custom alignment¶

string pad custom alignment offset text

Pad string with custom alignment and offset

def pad_custom_alignment(text, width, char=" ", alignment="left", offset=0):
    """Pad string with custom alignment and offset."""
    if alignment == "left":
        return text.ljust(width, char)
    elif alignment == "right":
        return text.rjust(width, char)
    elif alignment == "center":
        return text.center(width, char)
    elif alignment == "custom":
        # Custom alignment with offset
        padding_needed = width - len(text)
        if padding_needed <= 0:
            return text

        left_pad = min(offset, padding_needed)
        right_pad = padding_needed - left_pad

        return char * left_pad + text + char * right_pad
    else:
        return text


text = "Hello"
result = pad_custom_alignment(text, 15, "*", "custom", 5)
print(result)  # "*****Hello*****"

Notes

Custom alignment positioning
Offset control
Flexible positioning
Advanced formatting

Pad with number formatting¶

string pad numbers formatting width text

Pad number to specified width

def pad_with_char(text, width, char=" ", align="left"):
    # See above defined function
    pass

def pad_number(number, width, char=" ", align="right"):
    """Pad number to specified width."""
    text = str(number)
    return pad_with_char(text, width, char, align)


numbers = [1, 12, 123, 1234]
for num in numbers:
    result = pad_number(num, 6, "0", "right")
    print(result)
# "000001"
# "000012"
# "000123"
# "001234"

Notes

Uses pad_with_char
Converts number to string
Zero-padding for numbers
Right alignment default
Useful for formatting

🔗 Cross-References¶

Reference: See 📂 Truncate String
Reference: See 📂 Center String

🏷️ Tags¶

string, pad, ljust, rjust, zfill, alignment, width, text

📝 Notes¶

Use str.ljust(), str.rjust(), and str.zfill() for padding
Useful for formatting numbers and aligning text
Related: truncating and centering text