Java Language Console I/O Aligning strings in console

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Example

The method PrintWriter.format (called through System.out.format) can be used to print aligned strings in console. The method receives a String with the format information and a series of objects to format:

String rowsStrings[] = new String[] {"1", 
                                     "1234", 
                                     "1234567", 
                                     "123456789"};

String column1Format = "%-3s";    // min 3 characters, left aligned
String column2Format = "%-5.8s";  // min 5 and max 8 characters, left aligned
String column3Format = "%6.6s";   // fixed size 6 characters, right aligned
String formatInfo = column1Format + " " + column2Format + " " + column3Format;

for(int i = 0; i < rowsStrings.length; i++) {
    System.out.format(formatInfo, rowsStrings[i], rowsStrings[i], rowsStrings[i]);
    System.out.println();
}

Output:

1   1          1
1234 1234    1234
1234567 1234567 123456
123456789 12345678 123456

Using format strings with fixed size permits to print the strings in a table-like appearance with fixed size columns:

String rowsStrings[] = new String[] {"1", 
                                     "1234", 
                                     "1234567", 
                                     "123456789"};

String column1Format = "%-3.3s";  // fixed size 3 characters, left aligned
String column2Format = "%-8.8s";  // fixed size 8 characters, left aligned
String column3Format = "%6.6s";   // fixed size 6 characters, right aligned
String formatInfo = column1Format + " " + column2Format + " " + column3Format;

for(int i = 0; i < rowsStrings.length; i++) {
    System.out.format(formatInfo, rowsStrings[i], rowsStrings[i], rowsStrings[i]);
    System.out.println();
}

Output:

1   1             1
123 1234       1234
123 1234567  123456
123 12345678 123456

Format strings examples

  • %s: just a string with no formatting
  • %5s: format the string with a minimum of 5 characters; if the string is shorter it will be padded to 5 characters and right aligned
  • %-5s: format the string with a minimum of 5 characters; if the string is shorter it will be padded to 5 characters and left aligned
  • %5.10s: format the string with a minimum of 5 characters and a maximum of 10 characters; if the string is shorter than 5 it will be padded to 5 characters and right aligned; if the string is longer than 10 it will be truncated to 10 characters and right aligned
  • %-5.5s: format the string with a fixed size of 5 characters (minimum and maximum are equals); if the string is shorter than 5 it will be padded to 5 characters and left aligned; if the string is longer than 5 it will be truncated to 5 characters and left aligned


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