How to find Right-Left option in paragraph in task bar of Ms Word 2021

Fawad Ahmad Ziarmal 0 Reputation points
2026-09-16T18:31:33.0233333+00:00

My Ms word is not showing Right - Left or Left-Right option in the taskbar of paragraph

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows
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  1. John Jefferson Doyon 87,730 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-09-16T19:08:09.87+00:00

    Hi, @Fawad Ahmad Ziarmal

    The Right-to-Left and Left-to-Right paragraph buttons may not appear until a right-to-left authoring language is enabled in Word.

    If you haven’t tried it yet, first, go to File > Options > Language. Under "Office authoring languages and proofing," check whether the language you need, such as Arabic or Hebrew, is listed. If not, select "Add a Language," add it, then restart Word. Microsoft confirms that the authoring language controls text direction and layout.

    After restarting, check Home > Paragraph again.

    If the buttons are still missing, to help narrow down the issue:

    1. Which language are you trying to type in?
    2. What languages are currently listed under File > Options > Language > Office authoring languages and proofing?

    Click "Add comment" to let me know.

    Thanks!

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  2. Stefan Blom 352.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-09-16T23:51:26.94+00:00

    You can add the Right to Left command to the Quick Access Toolbar, if that helps.

    In Word, click File > Options > Quick Access Toolbar. Select "All Commands" in the Choose commands from drop down. Locate Right to Left and click the Add button.

    By default, the Quick Access Toolbar is shown in Word's title bar, but you can choose to display it below the ribbon instead. There is a check box for that in the dialog box (see the screen shot below).

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  3. AI answer

    2026-09-16T18:31:46.89+00:00

    The Right-to-left and Left-to-right paragraph buttons appear in Word only when a right-to-left language is enabled.

    To make them available in Word:

    1. Open Word.
    2. Go to File > Options > Language.
    3. In Office authoring languages and proofing, select the Arabic dialect needed, then choose Add a Language.
    4. In Choose Editing Languages, highlight that language and select Set as Preferred.

    After a right-to-left language is enabled, the Right-to-left paragraph button appears in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

    If text entry in that language is also needed, add the matching keyboard layout in Windows. After that, the Language bar appears on the taskbar, and the keyboard language can be switched from there or by pressing ALT+SHIFT.

    When both left-to-right and right-to-left languages are enabled, the Left-to-right and Right-to-left paragraph buttons are enabled on the ribbon in most Microsoft 365 programs.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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