# C++ Formatting **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464 "2001-10-04T23:21:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hightechburrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f6c823/32.png) [@hightechburrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hightechburrito)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/1 "2001-10-04T23:21:28Z")
I am working on a problem where I need centered output for a C++ program. Is there an easy way that I can do this? And if there is, I just might shoot myself. ---
**Author:** ![ModernRonin2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@ModernRonin2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ModernRonin2)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/2 "2001-10-04T23:34:56Z")
Generally, if you’re on a standard 80x25 text screen, you can just use the following algorithm: - Count the number of characters in your string. (strlen() or string.length or whatever) - Subtract that number from 80 - Divide by 2 - Pad the string on the left side with that may spaces This will center a text string on a standard “console”/DOS style 80x25 screen. If you’re talking about fonts on a graphical screen, it gets more complicated. You have to know the width of the viewport in pixels, and the width of the string in pixels, etc… -Ben ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/3 "2001-10-04T23:38:48Z")
I don’t know of anything off the top of my head. Check the iomanip library. ---
**Author:** ![hightechburrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f6c823/32.png) [@hightechburrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hightechburrito)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2001, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/4 "2001-10-04T23:41:17Z")
The program takes in an integer and a character. It needs to print out a diamond the width of the int and made up of the char. So if I enter 5 for int and \* for char, it _should_ look like this: –\* -\*\*\* * * * -\*\*\* –\* but mine looks like this: \* * * * * * * * * * - So the length before each line is different for each line and different for other ints that could be enterred, so I can’t just pad the space before it. ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/5 "2001-10-05T00:23:59Z")
Could you pad the margins by creating a for loop that does the math for you and inserts hard-coded spaces based on the size of your integer? Is that at all clear? -j ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/6 "2001-10-05T00:28:09Z")
It’s definetly in \. I forget the exact syntax, but it’s in there somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/7 "2001-10-05T00:28:26Z")
Should we really be doing this guy’s homework for him? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/8 "2001-10-05T01:05:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hightechburrito \* > So the length before each line is different for each line and different for other ints that could be enterred, so I can’t just pad the space before it. I don’t see what the problem is here. Why can’t you just do **Ronin** ’s algorithm for each line? ---
**Author:** ![Ell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@Ell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ell)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2001, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/c-formatting/85464/9 "2001-10-05T01:31:43Z")
How about using the setw function (in iomanip)?