New Mac users may not know about TextEdit, a simple but deep text editing and word processing tool that comes with your Mac. If necessary, change the way your text editor encodes your file to UTF-8. This is the TextEdit standard, so Mac users can skip this step. But in Notepad, you need to choose UTF-8 in the Encoding list at the bottom of the Save As window. Convert rich text documents to other formats. With TextEdit, you can open and edit rich text documents created in other word processing apps, including Microsoft Word and OpenOffice. You can also save your documents in a different format, so they’re compatible with other apps. How to open, edit, and convert documents.
TextEdit User Guide
You can adjust text indentation and alignment in TextEdit documents.
Show the ruler
In the TextEdit app on your Mac, choose Format > Text > Show Ruler.
To show the ruler in all new documents, choose TextEdit > Preferences, click New Document, then under Options, select “Show ruler.”
Apple Textedit App
Adjust paragraph alignment
In the TextEdit app on your Mac, click in a paragraph, or select several paragraphs.
Click an alignment button in the TextEdit toolbar (or use the Touch Bar).
Set paragraph indents
You can use the ruler to adjust the paragraph indent controls.
In the TextEdit app on your Mac, choose Format > Wrap to Page.
Drag the horizontal bar and downward-pointing triangles to where you want them.
Horizontal bar: Sets how far the first lines in paragraphs are indented.
Downward-pointing triangles: Sets how far entire paragraphs are indented (on the left or right).
Set tab stops
You can use the tab stops on the ruler to align text.
In the TextEdit app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Add a tab stop: Click the ruler where you want the tab stop.
Change the type of tab stop: Control-click a tab stop, then choose one of the following tab stops:
Left tab: Left-aligns text.
Center tab: Centers text.
Right tab: Right-aligns text.
Decimal tab: Aligns numbers around a decimal point.
Move a tab stop: Drag the tab stop left or right within the ruler.
Delete a tab stop: Drag its icon off the ruler.
Note: You can’t add tab stops to table cells. For information about aligning text in a table cell, see Add tables and lists to a document.
Copy the ruler
After you set the text indents and alignment, you can apply the same settings to another document by copying the ruler.
In the TextEdit app on your Mac, open the document with the settings you want to copy, then choose Format > Text > Copy Ruler.
Create or open another document in which you want the same settings.
Choose Format > Text > Paste Ruler.
Note: You can’t adjust the margins of a TextEdit document when you print it. To adjust the margins of the document when you print it, open it in Pages.