C# - Insert a variable number of spaces into a string? (Formatting an output file)

For this you probably want myString.PadRight(totalLength, charToInsert).

See String.PadRight Method (Int32) for more info.


Use String.Format() or TextWriter.Format() (depending on how you actually write to the file) and specify the width of a field.

String.Format("{0,20}{1,15}{2,15}", "Sample Title One", "Element One", "Whatever Else");

You can specify the width of a field within interpolated strings as well:

$"{"Sample Title One",20}{"Element One",15}{"Whatever Else",15}"

And just so you know, you can create a string of repeated characters using the appropriate string contructor.

new String(' ', 20); // string of 20 spaces

Use String.Format:

string title1 = "Sample Title One";
string element1 = "Element One";
string format = "{0,-20} {1,-10}";

string result = string.Format(format, title1, element1);
//or you can print to Console directly with
//Console.WriteLine(format, title1, element1);

In the format {0,-20} means the first argument has a fixed length 20, and the negative sign guarantees the string is printed from left to right.