Correct line spacing in word

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You can control the vertical space between the lines of text in your document by setting the line spacing. Or, you can change the vertical space between paragraphs in your document by setting the spacing before or spacing after paragraphs. You can also choose to keep lines of text together or keep paragraphs together on a page.

Change the line spacing in an entire document

  1. Go to Design > Paragraph Spacing.

  2. Choose an option. To single space your document, select No Paragraph Space.

To return to the original settings later, go to Design > Paragraph Spacing and choose the option under Style Set. This may be Default or the name of style you’re currently using.

Change the line spacing in a portion of the document

  1. Select one or more paragraphs to update. Press Ctrl + A to select all.

  2. Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing Line and Paragraph Spacing button

  3. Select Line Spacing Options and choose an option in the Line spacing box.

    Line spacing options

  4. Adjust the Before and After settings to change spacing between paragraphs.

  5. Select OK.

For more info, see Adjust indents and spacing.

Change the line spacing in an entire document

  1. Go to Design > Paragraph Spacing.

    On the Design tab, Paragraph Spacing is highlighted

  2. Choose the option you want. If you want to single space your document, choose No Paragraph Space.

This overrides the settings of the style you’re currently using. If you decide later to return to the original settings, go to Design > Paragraph Spacing and choose the option under Style Set. The option might be Default, as shown above, or it will show the name of style you’re currently using.

Change the line spacing in a portion of the document

  1. Select the paragraphs you want to change.

  2. Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing.

    On the Home tab, Line Spacing is hightlighted

  3. Choose the number of line spaces you want or select Line Spacing Options, and then select the options you want under Spacing.

    In the Paragraph dialog box, the Spacing section is highlighted

  4. To change the spacing before or after each of the paragraphs in the text you selected, click the arrow next to Before or After and enter the amount of space that you want.

  5. Select OK.

  1. Select the paragraph whose lines you want to keep together.

  2. Go to Format > Paragraph >Line and Page Breaks.

  3. Select Keep lines together.

  1. Select the first of the two paragraphs that you want to keep together.

    Tip: If you want to keep more than two paragraphs together, select all but the last paragraph.

  2. Go to Format > Paragraph.

  3. Go to Line and Page Breaks.

  4. Select Keep with next.

  5. Select OK.

  1. Select the paragraphs you want to change, or press Ctrl+A to select everything.

  2. Go to Home > Line Spacing.

    Line spacing button

  3. Choose the number of line spaces you want, or select Line Spacing Options and then select the options you want in the Paragraph dialog box under Spacing:

    Paragraph dialog box

Tip: If you want to change the spacing before or after the selected paragraphs, select the arrows in the Before or After boxes, or type a number directly.

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Change the line spacing in Word

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  1. Select Design > Paragraph Spacing.

  2. Hover the cursor over each option to see a preview, and then select the option you want.

    Options to change paragraph spacing in Word

    For single spacing, select No Paragraph Space.

Change line spacing for part of your document

  1. Select the paragraphs you want to change.

  2. Select Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and choose the spacing you want.

    Options to change line spacing in Word

  3. To customize spacing, select Line Spacing Options. You can adjust several areas including spacing before and after paragraphs. 

See Also

Add and format text

Create a bulleted or numbered list 

Apply styles

Apply themes

Change the default line spacing 

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Change the line spacing in a portion of the document

  1. Select one or more paragraphs to update.
  2. Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing.
  3. Select Line Spacing Options and choose an option in the Line spacing box.
  4. Adjust the Before and After settings to change spacing between paragraphs.
  5. Select OK.

Contents

  • 1 How do you do 1.5 line spacing in Word?
  • 2 How do I change line spacing to 1.0 in Word?
  • 3 How do I change the spacing between lines in Word 2010?
  • 4 What is 1.5 spacing word?
  • 5 How do I change line spacing in Word 2016?
  • 6 How do you change line spacing in Word 2007?
  • 7 Is 1.0 single spacing?
  • 8 What is a line spacing in Word?
  • 9 How do you change line spacing in docs?
  • 10 Which line spacing is invalid?
  • 11 How do I change the spacing between lines in Word 2013?
  • 12 How do I make the space between paragraphs smaller in Word?
  • 13 How do I change the spacing in Word for Mac?
  • 14 How do I change the line spacing in Word 2008?
  • 15 How do I change the line spacing in Word 2003?
  • 16 What is line spacing in MS Word 2007?
  • 17 Why is line spacing not working in Word?
  • 18 How do I change line spacing to 1.2 in Word?
  • 19 What is the shortcut key for 1.5 line spacing?
  • 20 Why is my Line spacing off in docs?

How do you do 1.5 line spacing in Word?

To format line spacing:

  1. Click Format on the menu bar.
  2. Select Paragraph. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
  3. Click the Indents and Spacing tab.
  4. In the line spacing drop-down menu, you can select single, 1.5, or double spacing. The default is single spacing.
  5. Click OK.

How do I change line spacing to 1.0 in Word?

Choose 1.0

  1. Select the paragraphs you want to change.
  2. Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing .
  3. Choose 1.0.

How do I change the spacing between lines in Word 2010?

To format line spacing:

  1. Select the text you want to format.
  2. Click the Line and Paragraph Spacing command in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.
  3. Select the desired spacing option from the drop-down menu.
  4. From the drop-down menu, you can also select Line Spacing Options to open the Paragraph dialog box.

What is 1.5 spacing word?

Press Ctrl+1 for single-spacing, Ctrl+5 for 1.5 spacing, or Ctrl+2 for double-spacing. Click to view larger image.

How do I change line spacing in Word 2016?

Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing. Select Line Spacing Options, and then choose the options you want under Spacing. To change the spacing before or after the selected paragraphs, select the arrow next to Before or After and enter the amount of space that you want. Select Set as Default.

How do you change line spacing in Word 2007?

Select the text you want to format. Click the Line spacing command in the Paragraph group on the Home tab. Select a spacing option.
The Paragraph dialog box appears.

  1. Use the Line spacing drop-down menu to select a spacing option.
  2. Modify the before and after points to adjust line spacing as needed.
  3. Click OK.

Is 1.0 single spacing?

Line spacing is the distance between lines. In earlier versions of Word, the default line spacing distance is “1.0,” or single-spacing, which stacks lines closely together with minimal space between. The amount of that space varies depending on the font used.

What is a line spacing in Word?

Line spacing is the distance between lines of text.To change the line spacing, select the lines you want to change. Then go to the Home tab and find the line spacing button in the Paragraph section.

How do you change line spacing in docs?

Change line & paragraph spacing

  1. On your computer, open a document in Google Docs.
  2. Select the lines you want to change.
  3. Click Format. Line & paragraph spacing.
  4. Select a line spacing option: To change your paragraph spacing, click Single, 1.15, 1.5, or Double.

Which line spacing is invalid?

The correct answer is Triple. Line spacing feature in MS word or any other word processing tool gives us the flexibility to adjust the space between two lines of text. To set the line spacing, we need to select the lines of text and go to the spacing option on the ribbon.

How do I change the spacing between lines in Word 2013?

To format line spacing:

  1. Select the text you want to format. Selecting text to format.
  2. On the Home tab, click the Line and Paragraph Spacing command. A drop-down menu will appear.
  3. Move the mouse over the various options.
  4. The line spacing will change in the document.

How do I make the space between paragraphs smaller in Word?

Change spacing between paragraphs

  1. Click anywhere in the paragraph you want to change.
  2. Go to Layout, and under Spacing, click the up or down arrows to adjust the distance before or after the paragraph. You can also type a number directly.

How do I change the spacing in Word for Mac?

Change the line spacing in Word for Mac

  1. Click Design > Paragraph Spacing.
  2. Click the option you want. If you want to single space your document, choose No Paragraph Space.

How do I change the line spacing in Word 2008?

Word 2011 and 2008

  1. Select the document text for which you want to change the line spacing.
  2. From the Format menu, select Paragraph…. The Paragraph dialog box will open.
  3. Select the Indents and Spacing tab.
  4. Click OK to apply your changes.

How do I change the line spacing in Word 2003?

Adjusting Line Spacing

  1. Place the insertion point in the desired paragraph.
  2. From the Format menu, select Paragraph… The Paragraph dialog box appears.
  3. Select the Indents and Spacing tab.
  4. In the Spacing section, from the Line spacing pull-down list, select the desired spacing option.
  5. Click OK.

What is line spacing in MS Word 2007?

By Dan Gookin. Word 2007 enables you to change the line spacing within your paragraphs using the Line Spacing command. Changing the line spacing inserts extra space between all lines of text in a paragraph. Word adds the space, or extra blank lines, below each line of text in the paragraph.

Why is line spacing not working in Word?

A couple of things to check: For the style in question, look at the paragraph formatting and make sure that “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style” is not checked. At Tools | Options | Compatibility, make sure that “Don’t use HTML paragraph auto spacing” is checked.

How do I change line spacing to 1.2 in Word?

Change the line spacing in a portion of the document

  1. Select one or more paragraphs to update.
  2. Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing.
  3. Select Line Spacing Options and choose an option in the Line spacing box.
  4. Adjust the Before and After settings to change spacing between paragraphs.
  5. Select OK.

What is the shortcut key for 1.5 line spacing?

Ctrl+5
Pressing Ctrl+5 changes to 1.5 line spacing.

Why is my Line spacing off in docs?

You will need to change that on the computer/desktop app (not the mobile app). When you’re on a computer, drag your cursor through the problem lines or press Ctrl + A to select your entire document. Then go to the line-spacing tool in the action bar and select Add/remove space before paragraph.

Stack of books against wood wall with text overlay "How to Adjust Line Spacing in Microsoft Word"

There are several ways to adjust line spacing in Microsoft Word. Today’s tutorial explains the basic method using the ribbon and a more advanced method using the Paragraph dialog box.

See the Quick Tip at the bottom of this tutorial to learn how to single-space an entire document from the Paragraph dialog box.

This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 150 other document software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365.The steps are the same in Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016, and similar for Word 2013 and Word 2010. However, your interface may look slightly different in those older versions of the software.

Basic Method: Adjust Line Spacing from the Ribbon

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon.

Home tab in Word 365

Figure 1. Home tab
  1. (Optional Step) Select the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group to show paragraph break symbols and other formatting that may affect line spacing.

Show Hide button in Word 365

Figure 2. Show/Hide button
  1. Select the text with the line spacing that needs to be changed.

Selected text

Figure 3. Selected text
  1. Select the Line and Paragraph Spacing button in the Paragraph group.

Line and Paragraph Spacing button in Word 365

Figure 4. Line and Paragraph Spacing button
  1. Select an option from the drop-down menu:

A. Numbers 1.0 through 3.0 add space between lines.

B. Add Space Before Paragraph adds space before paragraphs but not before the lines within them.

C. Remove Space After Paragraph removes space after paragraphs but not after the lines within them.

These three options are based on your current font size with 1.0 being the equivalent of single-spacing.

Line and Paragraph Spacing menu in Word 365

Figure 5. Line and Paragraph Spacing menu

Your changes will be applied immediately.

Text with 2.0 spacing applied

Figure 6. Text with 2.0 spacing applied

Note that you can apply the individual line spacing (the numbers 1.0 through 3.0) and the paragraph spacing to the same text to further customize your results.

  1. (Optional Step) Select the Show/Hide button again to hide paragraph symbols and other formatting (see figure 2).

Now, let’s move on to an advanced method offering additional spacing options.

Advanced Method: Adjust Line Spacing from the Paragraph Dialog Box

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
  2. (Optional Step) Select the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group to show paragraph break symbols and other formatting that may affect line spacing (see figure 2).
  3. Select the text with the line spacing that needs to be changed (see figure 3).

Pro Tip: PC users can press Ctrl + A to select the entire document if all the line spacing needs to be changed. However, this includes items you may not want to alter, including headings, tables, table titles, figure captions, tables of contents, footnotes, endnotes, and reference lists.

  1. Select the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group.

Paragraph group dialog box launcher in Word 365

Figure 7. Paragraph group dialog box launcher
  1. Make changes in the Spacing section of the Paragraph dialog box:

A. The Before and After boxes represent the spaces before and after paragraphs measured in points with one point being 1/72 of an inch tall. Use the increment arrows to choose a whole number or enter a number with a decimal (e.g., 2.75) directly into the box.

B. The Line spacing drop-down menu offers six options:

1. Single—Creates single-spacing based on your current font size.

2. 1.5 Lines—Creates a space and a half as large as your current font size.

3. Double—Creates double-spacing based on your current font size.

4. At Least—Determines the minimum amount of space between lines based on the number of points entered in the At box.

5. Exactly—Creates space between lines based on the number of points entered in the At box.

6. Multiple—Creates spacing multiplied by the number entered in the At box. For example, if you enter four in the At box, your spacing will be four times as large as your current single-spacing.

C. Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style—For many users, this will remove spaces between all paragraphs because general documents commonly have only one paragraph style.

Paragraph dialog box Spacing section in Word 365

Figure 8. Spacing section

Note that the Preview box updates as you make adjustments in the Spacing section.

  1. Select the OK button to close the Paragraph dialog box.

Paragraph dialog box OK button in Word 365

Figure 9. OK button
  1. (Optional Step) Select the Show/Hide button again to hide paragraph symbols and other formatting (see figure 2).

Quick Tip: Single-Space an Entire Document from the Paragraph Dialog Box

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
  2. Select the entire document. (PC users can press Ctrl + A.)
  3. Select the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group (see figure 7).
  4. Enter 0 in the Before box in the Paragraph dialog box (see figure 8).
  5. Enter 0 in the After box in the Paragraph dialog box (see figure 8).
  6. Select Single in the Line spacing drop-down menu (see figure 8).
  7. Select the OK button (see figure 9).

Related Resources

How to Adjust Letter Spacing in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)

How to Adjust the Space between Words in Microsoft Word

How to Adjust Page Margins in Microsoft Word

Updated June 25, 2022

Lesson 9: Line and Paragraph Spacing

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Introduction

As you design your document and make formatting decisions, you will need to consider line and paragraph spacing. You can increase spacing to improve readability and reduce it to fit more text on the page.

Optional: Download our practice document.

Watch the video below to learn how to adjust line and paragraph spacing in your document.

Line spacing

Line spacing is the space between each line in a paragraph. Word allows you to customize the line spacing to be single spaced (one line high), double spaced (two lines high), or any other amount you want. The default spacing in Word is 1.08 lines, which is slightly larger than single spaced.

In the images below, you can compare different types of line spacing. From left to right, these images show default line spacing, single spacing, and double spacing.

example of different line spacings

Line spacing is also known as leading (pronounced to rhyme with wedding).

To format line spacing:

  1. Select the text you want to format.

    selecting paragraphs in a letter

  2. On the Home tab, click the Line and Paragraph Spacing command, then select the desired line spacing.

    selecting a line spacing option

  3. The line spacing will change in the document.

    a document with new spacing

Adjusting line spacing

Your line spacing options aren’t limited to the ones in the Line and Paragraph Spacing menu. To adjust spacing with more precision, select Line Spacing Options from the menu to access the Paragraph dialog box. You’ll then have a few additional options you can use to customize spacing.

  • Exactly: When you choose this option, the line spacing is measured in points, just like font size. For example, if you’re using 12-point text, you could use 15-point spacing.
  • At least: Like the the Exactly option, this lets you choose how many points of spacing you want. However, if you have different sizes of text on the same line, the spacing will expand to fit the larger text.
  • Multiple: This option lets you type the number of lines of spacing you want. For example, choosing Multiple and changing the spacing to 1.2 will make the text slightly more spread out than single-spaced text. If you want the lines to be closer together, you can choose a smaller value, like 0.9.

    customizing line spacing in the Paragraph dialog box

Paragraph spacing

Just as you can format spacing between lines in your document, you can adjust spacing before and after paragraphs. This is useful for separating paragraphs, headings, and subheadings.

To format paragraph spacing:

In our example, we’ll increase the space before each paragraph to separate them a bit more. This will make it a little easier to read.

  1. Select the paragraph or paragraphs you want to format.

    selecting paragraphs in a letter

  2. On the Home tab, click the Line and Paragraph Spacing command. Click Add Space Before Paragraph or Remove Space After Paragraph from the drop-down menu. In our example, we’ll select Add Space Before Paragraph.

    adding space before a paragraph

  3. The paragraph spacing will change in the document.

    a paragraph with extra spacing

From the drop-down menu, you can also select Line Spacing Options to open the Paragraph dialog box. From here, you can control how much space there is before and after the paragraph.

adjusting paragraph spacing in the Paragraph dialog box

You can use Word’s convenient Set as Default feature to save all of the formatting changes you’ve made and automatically apply them to new documents. To learn how to do this, read our article on Changing Your Default Settings in Word.

Challenge!

  1. Open our practice document.
  2. Select the the date and the address block. This starts with April 13, 2016, and ends with Trenton, NJ 08601.
  3. Change the spacing before the paragraph to 12 pt and the spacing after the paragraph to 30 pt.
  4. Select the body of the letter. This starts with I am exceedingly and ends with your consideration.
  5. Change the line spacing to 1.15.
  6. When you’re finished, your page should look like this:

    Line Spacing Challenge

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