Alignment Class - PhpSpreadsheet

Overview

The Alignment class controls text alignment, rotation, wrapping, and indentation within cells.

Namespace

PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Alignment

Getting an Alignment Object

// Via Style object
$alignment = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment();

// Via chaining
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->getStyle('A1')
    ->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER)
    ->setVertical(Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER);

Constants

Horizontal Alignment

HORIZONTAL_GENERAL

string

default:"'general'"

General alignment (default)

HORIZONTAL_LEFT

string

default:"'left'"

Left-aligned

HORIZONTAL_CENTER

string

default:"'center'"

Center-aligned

HORIZONTAL_RIGHT

string

default:"'right'"

Right-aligned

HORIZONTAL_JUSTIFY

string

default:"'justify'"

Justified alignment

HORIZONTAL_FILL

string

default:"'fill'"

Fill alignment (repeats content to fill cell width)

HORIZONTAL_CENTER_CONTINUOUS

string

default:"'centerContinuous'"

Center across selection

HORIZONTAL_DISTRIBUTED

string

default:"'distributed'"

Distributed alignment (Excel 2007+)

Vertical Alignment

VERTICAL_TOP

string

default:"'top'"

Top-aligned

VERTICAL_CENTER

string

default:"'center'"

Center-aligned

VERTICAL_BOTTOM

string

default:"'bottom'"

Bottom-aligned (default)

VERTICAL_JUSTIFY

string

default:"'justify'"

Justified alignment

VERTICAL_DISTRIBUTED

string

default:"'distributed'"

Distributed alignment (Excel 2007+)

Read Order

READORDER_CONTEXT

int

default:"0"

Context-dependent reading order

READORDER_LTR

int

default:"1"

Left-to-right reading order

READORDER_RTL

int

default:"2"

Right-to-left reading order

Text Rotation

TEXTROTATION_STACK_PHPSPREADSHEET

int

default:"-165"

Stack text vertically (special value for PhpSpreadsheet)

TEXTROTATION_STACK_EXCEL

int

default:"255"

Stack text vertically (Excel format value)

Properties

horizontal

string

default:"'general'"

Horizontal alignment

vertical

string

default:"'bottom'"

Vertical alignment

textRotation

int

default:"0"

Text rotation angle (-90 to 90 degrees, or -165 for vertical stacking)

wrapText

bool

default:"false"

Whether to wrap text in cell

shrinkToFit

bool

default:"false"

Whether to shrink text to fit cell

indent

int

default:"0"

Indentation level (only works with left/right/distributed horizontal alignment)

readOrder

int

default:"0"

Reading order (0=context, 1=LTR, 2=RTL)

justifyLastLine

bool

default:"null"

Whether to justify the last line (used with justify alignment)

Methods

getHorizontal()

Get horizontal alignment.

public function getHorizontal(): ?string

setHorizontal()

Set horizontal alignment.

public function setHorizontal(string $horizontalAlignment): static

horizontalAlignment

string

required

Horizontal alignment (use HORIZONTAL_* constants)

Example:

$alignment->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER);
$alignment->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT);
$alignment->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_RIGHT);

getVertical()

Get vertical alignment.

public function getVertical(): ?string

setVertical()

Set vertical alignment.

public function setVertical(string $verticalAlignment): static

verticalAlignment

string

required

Vertical alignment (use VERTICAL_* constants)

Example:

$alignment->setVertical(Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER);
$alignment->setVertical(Alignment::VERTICAL_TOP);
$alignment->setVertical(Alignment::VERTICAL_BOTTOM);

getTextRotation()

Get text rotation angle.

public function getTextRotation(): ?int

setTextRotation()

Set text rotation angle.

public function setTextRotation(int $angleInDegrees): static

angleInDegrees

int

required

Rotation angle in degrees (-90 to 90, or -165 for vertical stacking)

Example:

$alignment->setTextRotation(45);   // 45 degrees
$alignment->setTextRotation(-45);  // -45 degrees
$alignment->setTextRotation(90);   // 90 degrees
$alignment->setTextRotation(-165); // Vertical stacking

getWrapText()

Get wrap text setting.

public function getWrapText(): bool

setWrapText()

Set wrap text.

public function setWrapText(bool $wrapped): static

wrapped

bool

required

Whether to wrap text

Example:

$alignment->setWrapText(true);

getShrinkToFit()

Get shrink to fit setting.

public function getShrinkToFit(): bool

setShrinkToFit()

Set shrink to fit.

public function setShrinkToFit(bool $shrink): static

shrink

bool

required

Whether to shrink text to fit cell

Example:

$alignment->setShrinkToFit(true);

getIndent()

Get indentation level.

public function getIndent(): int

setIndent()

Set indentation level.

public function setIndent(int $indent): static

indent

int

required

Indentation level (only works with left, right, or distributed alignment)

Example:

$alignment->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT)
          ->setIndent(2);

getReadOrder()

Get reading order.

public function getReadOrder(): int

setReadOrder()

Set reading order.

public function setReadOrder(int $readOrder): static

readOrder

int

required

Reading order (use READORDER_* constants)

Example:

$alignment->setReadOrder(Alignment::READORDER_RTL); // Right-to-left
$alignment->setReadOrder(Alignment::READORDER_LTR); // Left-to-right

getJustifyLastLine()

Get justify last line setting.

public function getJustifyLastLine(): ?bool

setJustifyLastLine()

Set justify last line.

public function setJustifyLastLine(bool $justifyLastLine): static

justifyLastLine

bool

required

Whether to justify the last line

applyFromArray()

Apply multiple alignment settings at once.

public function applyFromArray(array $styleArray): static

styleArray

array

required

Array containing alignment style information

Example:

$alignment->applyFromArray([
    'horizontal' => Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER,
    'vertical' => Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER,
    'textRotation' => 0,
    'wrapText' => true
]);

Complete Examples

Basic Alignment

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Alignment;

$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

// Center alignment (both horizontal and vertical)
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER)
    ->setVertical(Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER);

// Left-aligned
$sheet->getStyle('A2')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT);

// Right-aligned
$sheet->getStyle('A3')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_RIGHT);

Text Wrapping

// Enable text wrapping for long text
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'This is a very long text that should wrap within the cell');
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()->setWrapText(true);

// Or using applyFromArray
$sheet->getStyle('A2')->applyFromArray([
    'alignment' => [
        'wrapText' => true
    ]
]);

Text Rotation

// 45 degree rotation
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()->setTextRotation(45);

// 90 degree rotation (vertical text)
$sheet->getStyle('A2')->getAlignment()->setTextRotation(90);

// -90 degree rotation
$sheet->getStyle('A3')->getAlignment()->setTextRotation(-90);

// Vertical stacking
$sheet->getStyle('A4')->getAlignment()->setTextRotation(-165);

Shrink to Fit

// Text will automatically shrink to fit cell width
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Very long text that needs to fit');
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()->setShrinkToFit(true);

Indentation

// Indent text (only works with left/right alignment)
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT)
    ->setIndent(2);

$sheet->getStyle('A2')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT)
    ->setIndent(4);

Header Row Styling

// Center-aligned, bold header
$sheet->getStyle('A1:E1')->applyFromArray([
    'font' => [
        'bold' => true
    ],
    'alignment' => [
        'horizontal' => Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER,
        'vertical' => Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER
    ]
]);

Table with Mixed Alignment

// Headers - centered
$sheet->getStyle('A1:D1')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER);

// Text columns - left aligned
$sheet->getStyle('A2:B100')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT);

// Number columns - right aligned
$sheet->getStyle('C2:D100')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_RIGHT);

Multi-line Text

// Text with line breaks
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', "Line 1\nLine 2\nLine 3");
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()
    ->setWrapText(true)
    ->setVertical(Alignment::VERTICAL_TOP);

Justified Text

$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'This is a long paragraph that will be justified across the cell width.');
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_JUSTIFY)
    ->setWrapText(true);

Center Across Selection

// Center text across multiple cells without merging
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Centered Across');
$sheet->getStyle('A1:E1')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER_CONTINUOUS);

Vertical Header

// Create vertical column headers
$headers = ['Jan', 'Feb', 'Mar', 'Apr', 'May'];
foreach ($headers as $col => $header) {
    $columnLetter = \PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Cell\Coordinate::stringFromColumnIndex($col + 1);
    $sheet->setCellValue($columnLetter . '1', $header);
    $sheet->getStyle($columnLetter . '1')->getAlignment()
        ->setTextRotation(90)
        ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER);
}

Right-to-Left Text

// For RTL languages (Arabic, Hebrew, etc.)
$sheet->getStyle('A1')->getAlignment()
    ->setReadOrder(Alignment::READORDER_RTL)
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_RIGHT);

Complete Table Example

$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

// Headers
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Name');
$sheet->setCellValue('B1', 'Age');
$sheet->setCellValue('C1', 'Salary');
$sheet->setCellValue('D1', 'Notes');

// Header styling
$sheet->getStyle('A1:D1')->applyFromArray([
    'font' => ['bold' => true],
    'alignment' => [
        'horizontal' => Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER,
        'vertical' => Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER
    ]
]);

// Data alignment
$sheet->getStyle('A2:A100')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT);  // Names

$sheet->getStyle('B2:C100')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_RIGHT); // Numbers

$sheet->getStyle('D2:D100')->getAlignment()
    ->setHorizontal(Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT)
    ->setWrapText(true);                          // Notes with wrapping

Common Use Cases

Table Header

$sheet->getStyle('A1:E1')->applyFromArray([
    'alignment' => [
        'horizontal' => Alignment::HORIZONTAL_CENTER,
        'vertical' => Alignment::VERTICAL_CENTER
    ]
]);

Number Column

$sheet->getStyle('C:C')->applyFromArray([
    'alignment' => [
        'horizontal' => Alignment::HORIZONTAL_RIGHT
    ]
]);

Text Column

$sheet->getStyle('A:A')->applyFromArray([
    'alignment' => [
        'horizontal' => Alignment::HORIZONTAL_LEFT,
        'wrapText' => true
    ]
]);

Core Classes

Readers

Writers

Calculation

Styling

Charts & Graphics

​Overview

​Namespace

​Getting an Alignment Object

​Constants

​Horizontal Alignment

​Vertical Alignment

​Read Order

​Text Rotation

​Properties

​Methods

​getHorizontal()

​setHorizontal()

​getVertical()

​setVertical()

​getTextRotation()

​setTextRotation()

​getWrapText()

​setWrapText()

​getShrinkToFit()

​setShrinkToFit()

​getIndent()

​setIndent()

​getReadOrder()

​setReadOrder()

​getJustifyLastLine()

​setJustifyLastLine()

​applyFromArray()

​Complete Examples

​Basic Alignment

​Text Wrapping

​Text Rotation

​Shrink to Fit

​Indentation

​Header Row Styling

​Table with Mixed Alignment

​Multi-line Text

​Justified Text

​Center Across Selection

​Vertical Header

​Right-to-Left Text

​Complete Table Example

​Common Use Cases

​Table Header

​Number Column

​Text Column

​See Also

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Namespace

Getting an Alignment Object

Constants

Horizontal Alignment

Vertical Alignment

Read Order

Text Rotation

Properties

Methods

getHorizontal()

setHorizontal()

getVertical()

setVertical()

getTextRotation()

setTextRotation()

getWrapText()

setWrapText()

getShrinkToFit()

setShrinkToFit()

getIndent()

setIndent()

getReadOrder()

setReadOrder()

getJustifyLastLine()

setJustifyLastLine()

applyFromArray()

Complete Examples

Basic Alignment

Text Wrapping

Text Rotation

Shrink to Fit

Indentation

Header Row Styling

Table with Mixed Alignment

Multi-line Text

Justified Text

Center Across Selection

Vertical Header

Right-to-Left Text

Complete Table Example

Common Use Cases

Table Header

Number Column

Text Column

See Also