WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. Its simplicity and versatility allow people to easily communicate with friends, family and coworkers. One handy feature on WhatsApp is the ability to format your text, including aligning it left, center or right within the message box. This can help you organize information and make conversations easier to read. But how exactly do you align text on WhatsApp?
Steps to Align Text on WhatsApp
Aligning your text on WhatsApp is easy and only takes a few steps:
- Open the WhatsApp app and go into a chat window where you want to send an aligned message.
- Tap on the text box at the bottom to bring up the keyboard.
- Type or paste your text into the message box as normal.
- Select the text you want to align.
- Tap the alignment icon at the top of the keyboard — it looks like three lines stacked horizontally.
- Select either left align, center align or right align, depending on how you want your text positioned.
- The selected text will align automatically in the message box.
- Tap send to send your aligned text.
The process is very quick and simple. The key is tapping that alignment icon on the keyboard once your text is entered, then choosing the alignment style you want. The text will instantly move into position in the message box.
Alignment Options
When you select text in WhatsApp and tap the alignment icon, you’ll have three options:
- Left aligned – Text is aligned along the left margin.
- Center aligned – Text is centered in the message box.
- Right aligned – Text is aligned along the right margin.
This gives you the flexibility to position your text in a way that organizes the information clearly for the recipient. Alignment can help highlight key points, divide up long blocks of text, and improve readability overall.
When to Use Text Alignment
Here are some examples of effective uses for text alignment in WhatsApp:
Lists and instructions
Left or right aligned lists stand out from paragraphs of text, making steps, tips, pros/cons, etc. easy to scan:
Left aligned
- Pack suitcase
- Arrange transportation to airport
- Confirm flight details
- Notify family of travel plans
Right aligned
- Pack suitcase
- Arrange transportation to airport
- Confirm flight details
- Notify family of travel plans
Organizing information
Center aligned headers divide long messages into clear sections. Right or left alignment also visually separates different information:
Center aligned header
Things to Bring on Trip
Left aligned list
- Travel documents
- Phone charger
- Camera
- Toiletries
Right aligned list
- Travel documents
- Phone charger
- Camera
- Toiletries
Emphasizing key points
Center alignment draws the eye to important details, quotes, phrases, etc:
Remember to check in for your flight online 24 hours in advance.
Right alignment highlights concluding thoughts, main takeaways, final pointers to remember:
Triple check that your passport is valid and not expiring soon!
Tips for Aligning Text on WhatsApp
Here are some tips to use text alignment effectively in your WhatsApp messages:
- Use alignment sparingly. Large blocks of left, center or right aligned text are hard to read.
- Stick to 1 alignment style per message. Flipping between different alignments is confusing.
- Align just key points or dividing headers – don’t align every line.
- Left alignment works well for conversational text and paragraphs.
- Test how the alignment looks before sending – adjust if needed.
- Center alignment draws attention, so use it to highlight your main point.
- Right alignment visually recedes; use it for supplemental information.
Following these tips will improve alignment clarity and readability.
Troubleshooting Text Alignment Issues
If you are having trouble getting text to align properly on WhatsApp, here are some things to try:
Make sure you’ve selected the text
Only selected text will change alignment. If no text is selected, the alignment icon will be grayed out.
Select small chunks of text
Trying to align huge paragraphs makes editing difficult. Select a few lines or a short paragraph at a time instead.
Avoid special characters or emojis
Unusual characters can sometimes disrupt alignment. Remove them and try aligning just standard text.
Double check app updates
An outdated version of WhatsApp may have alignment bugs. Check for app updates and install the latest version.
Restart the app
A simple restart or force stop can clear out bugs affecting text alignment.
Update your phone software
An outdated operating system can cause alignment issues. Install the latest OS update on your phone.
Try different text
It’s possible the specific text is causing problems. Try aligning different text strings to see if that helps.
Re-type the text
If copying/pasting text from another source, try typing it directly into WhatsApp instead.
Why Text Alignment Matters
Aligning text may seem like a minor formatting tweak, but it can go a long way in improving the clarity and professionalism of your WhatsApp messages. Here are some key benefits of taking the time to align your text properly:
- Enhances readability – aligned text is easier to scan and digest.
- Better organizes information – each alignment has a visual organization purpose.
- Guides the reader – alignment draws attention to key points.
- Cleaner appearance – alignment creates a neater, tighter look.
- Improves persuasiveness – aligned text looks more authoritative.
- Increases engagement – reading aligned text requires less effort.
In a digital world where attention spans are short, the easier your content is to read via alignment, formatting, etc., the more effective your message will be.
Conclusion
WhatsApp provides a handy text alignment tool right within the mobile app, making it quick and simple to align your messages left, centered or right. This can give your WhatsApp texts structure and organization, draw attention to key ideas, and improve readability for recipients. By following the steps outlined here and using alignment judiciously as needed, you can elevate your WhatsApp messages and take advantage of this useful formatting feature. So now you know exactly how to align text like a pro in your WhatsApp chats!