w:jc (Paragraph Justification)

Specifies the horizontal alignment of text within the paragraph (left, center, right, both, distribute).

Parent elements

w:jc specifies the horizontal text alignment (justification) for the paragraph. It is defined in ECMA-376 Part 1 §17.3.1.13.

When applied inside w:lvl, it controls the alignment of the numbering label within its indent zone.

Attribute	Type	Possible Values	Description
`w:val`	`ST_Jc`	`left` — align to left margin (default for LTR text)	Left-aligned text.
		`center` — centred between margins	Centred text.
		`right` — align to right margin	Right-aligned text.
		`both` — full justification (stretch to both margins)	Justified text.
		`distribute` — distribute characters evenly (CJK)	Character-distributed text.
		`highKashida`, `lowKashida`, `mediumKashida` — Arabic kashida justification variants	Arabic-specific justification.
		`thaiDistribute` — Thai character distribution	Thai-specific distribution.
		`numTab` — alignment for numbered list labels	Numbering label alignment (used inside `w:lvl`).

<!-- Centered paragraph -->
<w:pPr>
  <w:jc w:val="center"/>
</w:pPr>

new ParagraphProperties(
  new Justification { Val = JustificationValues.Center });

<!-- Full justification (stretch to both margins) -->
<w:pPr>
  <w:jc w:val="both"/>
</w:pPr>

new ParagraphProperties(
  new Justification { Val = JustificationValues.Both });

Value	Behavior	Common Use
`left`	Align to left margin	Default for LTR, body text
`right`	Align to right margin	Right-to-left text, emphasisís
`center`	Centre between margins	Headers, titles, signatures
`both`	Stretch to both margins	Formal documents, justified text
`distribute`	Distribute characters evenly	CJK (Chinese/Japanese/Korean) text

Default: left for LTR documents; may be right for RTL.
CJK Text: Use distribute for Chinese, Japanese, Korean text alignment.
Arabic Text: Use highKashida, mediumKashida, or lowKashida for proper justification.
Thai Text: Use thaiDistribute for Thai character spacing.
Justification: both adds inter-word spacing; may vary line to line.
Numbering Alignment: numTab applies only in list level definitions.
Inheritance: Overrides style-level justification.
Compatibility: All Office versions support standard justification consistently.