UK TeX FAQ -- question label flushboth

### Cancelling `\``ragged` commands

LaTeX provides commands `\``raggedright` and `\``raggedleft`, but none to cancel their effect. The `\``centering` command is implemented in the same way as the `\``ragged*` commands, and suffers in the same way.

The following code (to be inserted in a package of your own, or as internal LaTeX code) defines a command that restores flush justification at both margins:

    \def\flushboth{%
      \let\\\@normalcr
      \@rightskip\z@skip \rightskip\@rightskip
      \leftskip\z@skip
      \parindent 1.5em\relax}

There's a problem with the setting of `\``parindent` in the code: it's necessary because both the `\``ragged` commands set `\``parindent` to zero, but the setting isn't a constant of nature: documents using a standard LaTeX class with `twocolumn` option will have `1.0em` by default, and there's no knowing what you (or some other class) will have done.

If you are using Martin Schröder's ragged2e package, it is worth updating to the latest release (January 2003), which has a `\``justifying` command to match its versions of the LaTeX 'ragged' commands. The package also provides a `justify` environment, which permits areas of justified text in a larger area which is ragged.

`ragged2e.sty`
  Distributed as part of macros/latex/contrib/ms (zip, browse)

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