# Text Padding Tool

> Pad every line to a fixed width with any character, on the left, right or both sides.

Padding aligns lines to a fixed width by adding characters until each reaches the target length. Pad on the right to left-align, on the left to right-align, or on both sides to centre — useful for fixed-width data files, receipt printers and aligned console output.

**URL:** https://convertto.tech/t/text-padder
**Category:** Text Tools (https://convertto.tech/c/text-tools)
**Privacy:** Runs entirely in the browser; no upload
**Cost:** Free, no sign-up
**Last updated:** 2026-08-01

## Key facts

- **Privacy:** Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded
- **Cost:** Free, unlimited, no sign-up

## How to use

1. Enter or paste your lines.
2. Set the pad to width.
3. Enter or paste your pad with.
4. Choose the pad on the.
5. Turn "Truncate lines longer than the width" on or off as needed.
6. The result appears immediately — copy or download it.

## FAQ

### What is a fixed-width file?

A format where each field occupies a set number of characters rather than being delimited — still common in banking, payroll and older mainframe interfaces. Padding is how you produce one, since every field must fill its column exactly.

### Why does padding sometimes look wrong?

Because the count is characters, not display width. A CJK character occupies two terminal cells but counts as one, so a column of mixed scripts pads to equal length yet renders unevenly.

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