Default text direction You can specify the direction of new texts entered in the Document. To use right-to-left text as the default 1 Select Tools > Options. The Options dialog opens. 2 Select Defaults > Paragraph. 3 Set the Default text direction to Right-to-Left. You can specify the direction for each paragraph in the Properties panel Paragraph style category, or by using the toolbar buttons: For tables, you specify the direction in the Properties panel, in the Table category.