text-justify

The text-justify CSS property defines what type of justification should be applied to text when it is justified (i.e., when text-align: justify; is set on it).

text-justify: none;
text-justify: auto;
text-justify: inter-word;
text-justify: inter-character;
text-justify: distribute; /* Deprecated value */

Syntax

The text-justify property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.

Values

none

The text justification is turned off. This has the same effect as not setting text-align at all, although it is useful if you need to turn justification on and off for some reason.

auto

The browser chooses the best type of justification for the current situation based on a balance between performance and quality, but also on what is most appropriate for the language of the text (e.g., English, CJK languages, etc.). This is the default justification used if text-justify is not set at all.

inter-word

The text is justified by adding space between words (effectively varying word-spacing), which is most appropriate for languages that separate words using spaces, like English or Korean.

inter-character

The text is justified by adding space between characters (effectively varying letter-spacing), which is most appropriate for languages like Japanese.

distribute

Exhibits the same behaviour as inter-word; this value is kept for backwards compatibility.

Formal syntax

auto | inter-character | inter-word | none

Examples

<p class="none"><code>text-justify: none</code> —<br>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc ornare maximus vehicula. Duis nisi velit, dictum id mauris vitae, lobortis pretium quam. Quisque sed nisi pulvinar, consequat justo id, feugiat leo. Cras eu elementum dui.</p>
<p class="auto"><code>text-justify: auto</code> —<br>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc ornare maximus vehicula. Duis nisi velit, dictum id mauris vitae, lobortis pretium quam. Quisque sed nisi pulvinar, consequat justo id, feugiat leo. Cras eu elementum dui.</p>
<p class="dist"><code>text-justify: distribute</code> —<br>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc ornare maximus vehicula. Duis nisi velit, dictum id mauris vitae, lobortis pretium quam. Quisque sed nisi pulvinar, consequat justo id, feugiat leo. Cras eu elementum dui.</p>
<p class="word"><code>text-justify: inter-word</code> —<br>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc ornare maximus vehicula. Duis nisi velit, dictum id mauris vitae, lobortis pretium quam. Quisque sed nisi pulvinar, consequat justo id, feugiat leo. Cras eu elementum dui.</p>
<p class="char"><code>text-justify: inter-character</code> —<br>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nunc ornare maximus vehicula. Duis nisi velit, dictum id mauris vitae, lobortis pretium quam. Quisque sed nisi pulvinar, consequat justo id, feugiat leo. Cras eu elementum dui.</p>

p {
  font-size: 1.5em;
  border: 1px solid black;
  padding: 10px;
  width: 95%;
  margin: 10px auto;
  text-align: justify;
}
.none {
  text-justify: none;
}
.auto {
  text-justify: auto;
}
.dist {
  text-justify: distribute;
}
.word {
  text-justify: inter-word;
}
.char {
  text-justify: inter-character;
}

Specifications

Browser compatibility

[1] Doesn't support the standard values inter-character or none. Does support the deprecated distribute value, and the obsolete distribute-all-lines, distribute-center-last, inter-cluster, inter-ideograph, and newspaper values.

[2] Preffed off by default; the inter-word and distribute values are supported behind the "Experimental platform features" flag, although distribute is buggy.

See also

• text-align