Formatting your document
You can set margins, paragraph indentation, and text tabs by using the ruler in TextEdit. You can also insert page breaks and line breaks where you need them.
There are four kinds of tab stops and two types of margins, each indicated by a differently shaped icon:
A right-facing triangle indicates a tab stop at which text will be left-justified. A diamond indicates a tab stop at which text will be centered. A left-facing triangle indicates a tab stop at which text will be right-justified. A circle indicates a decimal tab stop at which numbers will be justified around a decimal point. A downward-facing triangle indicates a page margin. A horizontal rectangle indicates the indentation of the first line of a paragraph.
- To make the ruler appear (if you don't already see it), choose Format > Text > Show Ruler.
- To place a tab stop, select one from the tab stop palette on the right side of the ruler and drag it into place above the ruler, or select a stop that is already in place and drag it to a new location.
- To remove a tab stop, drag it off the ruler.
- To change a margin, drag the left or right margin icon to a new location.
- To change the paragraph indentation, drag the indentation icon to a new location.
- To add a line break, choose Edit > Insert > Line Break.
- To insert a page break, choose Edit > Insert > Page Break. To remove the page break, press Delete.
Only Rich Text Format (RTF) documents and Word Format files can be formatted. To convert your document to an RTF file, choose Format > Make Rich Text. To save a document as a Word Format file, choose File > Save As and choose Word Format from the File Format pop-up menu.