Formatting Issues

How to Align SharePoint News Posts from Right to Left

Rana Garcia Oct 10, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users need a way to properly align text from right to left when publishing news posts in SharePoint.

How to Align SharePoint News Posts from Right to Left

Product: SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Publishing a news post in a right-to-left language such as Arabic or Hebrew on a SharePoint site.
Observed behavior: The news post content defaults to left alignment and lacks native right-to-left (RTL) formatting options in the editing experience.

Before you start

Ensure you have a desktop word processing application like WPS Writer or Microsoft Word installed to pre-format your text.

Solution 1Recommended

Pre-format Content Using a Word Processor

Use a desktop word processor to format the text alignment and direction, then paste it into the SharePoint news post.

SharePoint's modern news post editor currently has limitations regarding native Right-to-Left (RTL) formatting. If the host site is not configured with an RTL language by default, text will snap to left alignment.

To bypass this limitation, you can rely on the clipboard's ability to retain rich text formatting. By structuring your paragraphs in a dedicated word processor first, SharePoint will inherit the correct alignment upon pasting.

Open a word processing application

Launch your preferred word processor, such as WPS Writer or Microsoft Word, and create a new blank document.

Set the text direction to Right-to-Left

Locate the paragraph settings in the 'Home' tab and click the 'Right-to-Left Text Direction' button to align your cursor to the right side of the page.

Draft your news post content

Type or paste your Arabic, Hebrew, or other RTL language content into the document and ensure the formatting looks correct.

Copy and paste into SharePoint

Highlight all the formatted text, copy it (Ctrl+C), navigate to your SharePoint news post draft in your browser, and paste it (Ctrl+V) directly into the text web part.

Pre-format Content Using a Word Processor

Submit a Feature Request: Because this is a known limitation, you can submit or vote for native RTL formatting features through the Microsoft feedback community to encourage future updates.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Format Your SharePoint Content Easily with WPS Office

If you need a reliable word processor to prepare and format your Right-to-Left content for SharePoint, WPS Office provides a lightweight, robust, and completely free solution.

1. Download and Install: Get WPS Office for free from the official website and complete the quick installation process.
2. Open WPS Writer: Launch WPS Writer and create a new document. Use the Home tab to select the Right-to-Left text direction icon.
3. Draft and Transfer: Type your news post content, apply any necessary styling, and simply copy-paste it directly into your SharePoint site.

Native support for Right-to-Left (RTL) text formatting and paragraph alignment.Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) formats, ensuring your text copies perfectly into SharePoint.Free, lightweight, and fast-loading on Windows, Mac, and Linux.Familiar tab-based interface that requires zero learning curve.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my Arabic text align to the left in SharePoint?

Unless the default language of your SharePoint site is set to an RTL language, the modern page text web parts default to left-to-right formatting and lack a dedicated button to reverse the text direction.

Will pasting from a word processor keep all my formatting in SharePoint?

Pasting retains basic structural formatting like paragraph alignment, text direction, and bold/italic styles. However, custom fonts or complex layouts may be overridden by your SharePoint site's default theme.

Can I change my SharePoint site settings to natively support RTL?

Yes, if you create a new SharePoint site and set its default language to an RTL language (like Arabic or Hebrew) during creation, the entire interface and web parts will natively support right-to-left formatting.

Document & File Issues