C# || How To Pad Center & Center Align A String Of Fixed Length Using C#

July 28, 2021 admin No comments

The following is a module with functions which demonstrates how to pad center and center align a string of a fixed length using C#.

The function demonstrated on this page center aligns the characters in a string by padding them on the left and right with a specified character, of a specified total length.

The returned string is padded with as many padding characters needed to reach a length of the specified total width.

The padding character is user defined, but if no padding character is specified, the string is padded using a whitespace (‘ ‘).

1. Pad Center

The example below demonstrates the use of ‘Utils.Extensions.PadCenter‘ to center align a string of a fixed length.

In this example, the default padding character is used to pad the string, which is a whitespace (‘ ‘).





		
		
			1. Pad Center
			
C#
			
			// Pad Center

using Utils;

// Declare string
string original = "<-Kenneth->";

// Get padding width
int width = 15;

// Display result
Console.WriteLine("Original:   '" + original + "'");
Console.WriteLine("Pad Center: '" + original.PadCenter(width) + "'");
Console.WriteLine("Pad Right:  '" + original.PadRight(width) + "'");
Console.WriteLine("Pad Left:   '" + original.PadLeft(width) + "'");

// expected output:
/*
    Original:   '<-Kenneth->'
    Pad Center: '  <-Kenneth->  '
    Pad Right:  '<-Kenneth->    '
    Pad Left:   '    <-Kenneth->'
*/
			
				
					
				
					1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
				
						// Pad Center
 
using Utils;
 
// Declare string
string original = "<-Kenneth->";
 
// Get padding width
int width = 15;
 
// Display result
Console.WriteLine("Original:   '" + original + "'");
Console.WriteLine("Pad Center: '" + original.PadCenter(width) + "'");
Console.WriteLine("Pad Right:  '" + original.PadRight(width) + "'");
Console.WriteLine("Pad Left:   '" + original.PadLeft(width) + "'");
 
// expected output:
/*
    Original:   '<-Kenneth->'
    Pad Center: '  <-Kenneth->  '
    Pad Right:  '<-Kenneth->    '
    Pad Left:   '    <-Kenneth->'
*/

2. Utils Namespace

The following is the Utils Namespace. Include this in your project to start using!





		
		
			Utils Namespace
			
C#
			
			// ============================================================================
//    Author: Kenneth Perkins
//    Date:   Jul 28, 2021
//    Taken From: http://programmingnotes.org/
//    File:  Utils.cs
//    Description: Handles general utility functions
// ============================================================================
using System;

namespace Utils {
    public static class Extensions {
        /// <summary>
        /// Returns a new string that center aligns the characters in a 
        /// string by padding them on the left and right with a specified 
        /// character, of a specified total length
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="source">The source string</param>
        /// <param name="totalWidth">The number of characters to pad the source string</param>
        /// <param name="paddingChar">The padding character</param>
        /// <returns>The modified source string padded with as many paddingChar
        /// characters needed to create a length of totalWidth</returns>
        public static string PadCenter(this string source, int totalWidth, char paddingChar = ' ') {
            int spaces = totalWidth - source.Length;
            int padLeft = spaces / 2 + source.Length;
            return source.PadLeft(padLeft, paddingChar).PadRight(totalWidth, paddingChar);
        }
    }
}// http://programmingnotes.org/
			
				
					
				
					1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
				
						// ============================================================================
//    Author: Kenneth Perkins
//    Date:   Jul 28, 2021
//    Taken From: http://programmingnotes.org/
//    File:  Utils.cs
//    Description: Handles general utility functions
// ============================================================================
using System;
 
namespace Utils {
    public static class Extensions {
        /// <summary>
        /// Returns a new string that center aligns the characters in a 
        /// string by padding them on the left and right with a specified 
        /// character, of a specified total length
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="source">The source string</param>
        /// <param name="totalWidth">The number of characters to pad the source string</param>
        /// <param name="paddingChar">The padding character</param>
        /// <returns>The modified source string padded with as many paddingChar
        /// characters needed to create a length of totalWidth</returns>
        public static string PadCenter(this string source, int totalWidth, char paddingChar = ' ') {
            int spaces = totalWidth - source.Length;
            int padLeft = spaces / 2 + source.Length;
            return source.PadLeft(padLeft, paddingChar).PadRight(totalWidth, paddingChar);
        }
    }
}// http://programmingnotes.org/

3. More Examples

Below are more examples demonstrating the use of the ‘Utils‘ Namespace. Don’t forget to include the module when running the examples!





		
		
			More Examples
			
C#
			
			// ============================================================================
//    Author: Kenneth Perkins
//    Date:   Jul 28, 2021
//    Taken From: http://programmingnotes.org/
//    File:  Program.cs
//    Description: The following demonstrates the use of the Utils Namespace
// ============================================================================
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using Utils;

public class Program {
    static void Main(string[] args) {
        try {
            // Declare string
            string original = "<-Kenneth->";

            // Get padding width
            int width = 15;

            // Display result
            Display("Original:   '" + original + "'");
            Display("Pad Center: '" + original.PadCenter(width) + "'");
            Display("Pad Right:  '" + original.PadRight(width) + "'");
            Display("Pad Left:   '" + original.PadLeft(width) + "'");
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            Display(ex.ToString());
        } finally {
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }

    static void Display(string message) {
        Console.WriteLine(message);
        Debug.Print(message);
    }
}// http://programmingnotes.org/
			
				
					
				
					1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
				
						// ============================================================================
//    Author: Kenneth Perkins
//    Date:   Jul 28, 2021
//    Taken From: http://programmingnotes.org/
//    File:  Program.cs
//    Description: The following demonstrates the use of the Utils Namespace
// ============================================================================
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using Utils;
 
public class Program {
    static void Main(string[] args) {
        try {
            // Declare string
            string original = "<-Kenneth->";
 
            // Get padding width
            int width = 15;
 
            // Display result
            Display("Original:   '" + original + "'");
            Display("Pad Center: '" + original.PadCenter(width) + "'");
            Display("Pad Right:  '" + original.PadRight(width) + "'");
            Display("Pad Left:   '" + original.PadLeft(width) + "'");
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            Display(ex.ToString());
        } finally {
            Console.ReadLine();
        }
    }
 
    static void Display(string message) {
        Console.WriteLine(message);
        Debug.Print(message);
    }
}// http://programmingnotes.org/

QUICK NOTES:
The highlighted lines are sections of interest to look out for.

The code is heavily commented, so no further insight is necessary. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below.

Was this article helpful?

👍 YesNo

Posted in: C#, Console Tags: c-sharp, center align, pad center, string center

C# || How To Pad Center & Center Align A String Of Fixed Length Using C#

Related

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Search

Compile Your Code Now

Translate Page

Popular Pages

Recent

Archives

Categories