How do I center-align text within a specific width in Vim?

Explanation

The :center command pads a line with leading spaces so the text is centered within a given width. This is useful for formatting headings, ASCII art, or any text that needs to be visually centered without leaving Vim.

How it works

• :center — center the current line using textwidth (or 80 if not set)
• :center 60 — center the current line within 60 columns
• :%center — center all lines in the file
• :'<,'>center — center the selected lines

Vim also provides :left and :right for left and right alignment respectively.

Example

Before:
My Title
Subtitle Here

After :center 40:
                My Title
             Subtitle Here

:1,2center 40

Tips

• Set textwidth first with :set textwidth=80 to avoid specifying width each time
• :left removes all leading whitespace, :right 80 right-aligns to column 80
• Combine with visual selection to align specific blocks of text