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R Academy · Lesson

String Padding and Alignment

Use formatC() and format() for fixed-width and aligned text output.

Why String Padding Matters

Fixed-width output is essential for plain-text tables, log files, and reports. R provides formatC() and format() for padding values to a fixed width, ensuring columns align correctly in monospace displays.

# Unformatted: columns misalign
cat('Alice 85\n')
cat('Bob 9200\n')
# Padded: columns align
cat(formatC('Alice', width = 10), formatC(85,   width = 6), '\n')
cat(formatC('Bob',   width = 10), formatC(9200, width = 6), '\n')

formatC() — Right-Aligned Padding

formatC(x, width = n) pads the value to at least n characters wide, right-aligning by default. Spaces are added on the left. This works for both numbers and strings.

formatC('hi',   width = 10)
formatC(42,     width = 10)
formatC(3.14,   width = 10)

All lessons in this course

  1. Building Strings with paste() and paste0()
  2. Formatted Output with sprintf()
  3. Displaying Output with cat() and print()
  4. String Padding and Alignment
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