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You can change the spacing between characters of text for selected text or for particular characters. In addition, you can stretch or compress an entire paragraph to make it fit and look the way that you want it to.
Change the spacing between characters
Selecting Expanded or Condensed alters the spacing between all selected letters by the same amount. Kerning alters the spacing between particular pairs of letters — in some cases reducing and in other cases expanding the space depending upon the letters.
Expand or condense the space evenly between all the selected characters
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Select the text that you want to change.
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On the Home tab, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher, and then click the Advanced tab.
Note: If you’re using Word 2007 the tab is called Character Spacing.
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In the Spacing box, click Expanded or Condensed, and then specify how much space you want in the By box.
Kern the characters that are above a particular size
Kerning refers to the way spacing between two specific characters is adjusted. The idea is to give a better looking result by reducing the spacing between characters that fit together nicely (such as «A» and «V») and increasing the spacing between characters that don’t.
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Select the text that you want to change.
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On the Home tab, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher, and then click the Advanced tab.
Note: If you’re using Word 2007 the tab is called Character Spacing.
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Select the Kerning for fonts check box, and then enter the point size in the Points and above box.
Stretch or scale the text horizontally
When you scale the text, you change the shapes of the characters by percentages. You can scale text by stretching it or by compressing it.
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Select the text that you want to stretch or compress.
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On the Home tab, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher, and then click the Advanced tab.
Note: If you’re using Word 2007 the tab is called Character Spacing.
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In the Scale box, enter the percentage that you want.
Percentages above 100 percent stretch the text. Percentages below 100 percent compress the text.
Change the line spacing
To increase or decrease the amount of vertical space between lines of text within a paragraph, the best method is to modify the style the paragraph uses.
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Find the style you’re using in the Styles gallery on the Home tab.
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Right-click the style you want to change and select Modify.
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Near the center of the dialog box you’ll find the line spacing buttons that let you select single, 1.5x or double spaced. Choose the spacing you want to apply and click OK.
If you’d like to apply more specific line spacing to the style, clickthe Format button at the bottom left corner of the Modify Style dialog box and select Paragraph. The Line spacing drop-down lets you select or set more specific line spacing.
For more information on modifying styles in Word, see: Customize styles in Word.
See also
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Using Styles in Word — a free, 10-minute video training course.
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Change the font size
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Set page margins
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Align text left or right, center text, or justify text on a page
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Change the line spacing in Word
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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
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon.
- (Optional Step) Select the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group to show paragraph break symbols and other formatting that may affect line spacing.
- Select the text with the line spacing that needs to be changed.
- Select the Line and Paragraph Spacing button in the Paragraph group.
- 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.
Your changes will be applied immediately.
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.
- (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
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 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 (see figure 2).
- 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.
- Select the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group.
- 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.
Note that the Preview box updates as you make adjustments in the Spacing section.
- Select the OK button to close the Paragraph dialog box.
- (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
- Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the entire document. (PC users can press Ctrl + A.)
- Select the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group (see figure 7).
- Enter 0 in the Before box in the Paragraph dialog box (see figure 8).
- Enter 0 in the After box in the Paragraph dialog box (see figure 8).
- Select Single in the Line spacing drop-down menu (see figure 8).
- 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
Are you searching for a more subtle way to make a heading or paragraph stand out, without using bold or enlarged text?
Expanding the characters may be the perfect solution for you.
Changing the spacing between the characters will make your text look bigger and bolder without actually increasing their size.
Alternatively, condensing the text will compress your text to fit into a smaller space. If you are trying to find a way to make your text fit on a single page, without reducing the text size to an un-readable size 8 font, reducing the space between the characters may be the solution you have been searching for.
Maybe you just want to reduce or expand the spacing between your characters to make your Word document more aesthetically pleasing.
Whatever your reason is for trying to change the spacing between your text characters in Word, in this post, we will show you how!
Changing the line spacing between letters in Microsoft Word
- Open your Word Document
- Highlight the text you want to change the spacing between
- Right-click on your highlighted text
- Click Font
- Under Font, find and click Advanced
- Click Spacing
- Select Expanded to increase the spacing between your characters, or Condensed to reduce the size of the spacing between your characters
- Press OK
You have now successfully adjusted the spacing between each character selected.
If you would like to expand or condense the spacing throughout your entire Microsoft Word document you can do so by highlighting the full text body and following the steps above.
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To format line spacing:
- Click Format on the menu bar.
- Select Paragraph. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
- Click the Indents and Spacing tab.
- In the line spacing drop-down menu, you can select single, 1.5, or double spacing. The default is single spacing.
- Click OK.
Contents
- 1 How many points is 1.5 line spacing?
- 2 How do you do 1.5 spacing on pages?
- 3 What is the shortcut key for 1.5 line spacing?
- 4 Is 1.5 the same as double spacing?
- 5 How do you do spacing on Microsoft Word?
- 6 How do you do spacing on Word?
- 7 How do I change spacing in Word app?
- 8 How do you add a space after a paragraph in Word?
- 9 What is single spacing in Word?
- 10 What is L Ctrl?
- 11 What does Ctrl tab do in Word?
- 12 How do I make 1.5 spacing in InDesign?
- 13 How do I create a custom line spacing?
- 14 What is APA line spacing?
- 15 Is 1.0 single spacing?
- 16 How do you change line spacing in Word 2007?
- 17 How do I fix the spacing between words in Word justified?
- 18 How do I fix the spacing between words in Word for Mac?
- 19 How do you put a space between two words in CSS?
- 20 What is justified in Word?
How many points is 1.5 line spacing?
The first is set to “1.5 lines” (which is 21 points per line). The other is set to “Exactly” 21.
How do you do 1.5 spacing on pages?
Set line and paragraph spacing in Pages on Mac
- Select one or more paragraphs, or click the text box or shape with the text you want to change.
- In the Format sidebar, click the Style button near the top.
- Click the pop-up menu to the right of Spacing, then choose an option.
What is the shortcut key for 1.5 line spacing?
Ctrl+5
Align and format paragraphs
| To do this | Press |
|---|---|
| Apply 1.5-line spacing to the paragraph. | Ctrl+5 |
| Add or remove space before the paragraph. | Ctrl+0 (zero) |
| Enable AutoFormat. | Ctrl+Alt+K |
| Apply the Normal style. | Ctrl+Shift+N |
Is 1.5 the same as double spacing?
Word Right-click in the text and select Paragraph from the menu. Go to the menu under Line spacing . Exactly is best—enter a fixed measurement. Single , 1.5 lines , and Double are equivalent to about 117%, 175%, and 233% line spacing, contrary to what their names suggest.
How do you do spacing on Microsoft Word?
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.
Change the spacing between characters
- Select the text that you want to change.
- On the Home tab, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher, and then click the Advanced tab.
- In the Spacing box, click Expanded or Condensed, and then specify how much space you want in the By box.
How do I change spacing in Word app?
Change the spacing in a Word document on a mobile device
- In your Word document, select the text you want to change.
- On your iPad, tap the Home tab, and then tap the Line Spacing icon.
- Tap the Line Spacing menu and choose the line spacing you want, from 1.0 to 3.0.
How do you add a space after a paragraph in Word?
Select the paragraph or paragraphs you want to format. 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.
What is single spacing in Word?
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.
What is L Ctrl?
Alternatively referred to as Control+L and C-l, Ctrl+L is a keyboard shortcut whose function differs depending on the program being. For example, in Microsoft Word, Ctrl+L is used to align text with the left edge of a document (margin).Ctrl+L in Excel and other spreadsheet programs.
What does Ctrl tab do in Word?
Alternatively referred to as Control+Tab and C-tab, Ctrl+Tab is a keyboard shortcut most often used to switch between open tabs in a browser.
How do I make 1.5 spacing in InDesign?
Thus, 12/14.4 (point size/leading) default of Adobe InDesign is what is commonly accepted as single spacing. 1.5x spacing would be 12/21.6 (point size/leading) and 2x spacing would be 12/28.8 (point size/leading).
How do I create a custom line spacing?
Change the line spacing in a portion of the document
- Select one or more paragraphs to update.
- Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing.
- Select Line Spacing Options and choose an option in the Line spacing box.
- Adjust the Before and After settings to change spacing between paragraphs.
- Select OK.
What is APA line spacing?
In general, double-space all parts of an APA Style paper, including the abstract; text; block quotations; table and figure numbers, titles, and notes; and reference list (including between and within entries). Do not add extra space before or after paragraphs. Double-space the rest of the title page.
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.
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.
- Use the Line spacing drop-down menu to select a spacing option.
- Modify the before and after points to adjust line spacing as needed.
- Click OK.
How do I fix the spacing between words in Word justified?
Click the “Home” tab and then select the “Distributed” button in the Paragraph group. Alternatively, press “Ctrl-Shift-J.” This applies a full justification effect that evenly distributes spaces in both words and characters.
How do I fix the spacing between words in Word for Mac?
Change Default Font and Spacing in Mac Word
- Click on File and Style….
- Select Normal and click Modify….
- Change your font, pt, line spacing, etc. (i.e. I changed the Font to Times New Roman, 12 pt, and line spacing to single.) Click OK when done.
- Click Yes when prompted.
How do you put a space between two words in CSS?
You can wrap your text in a p tag, and you can add a margin to that after making it inline-block. Alternatively, you can make the container a flexbox, and use justify-content: space-between; but you’ll need to group each icon with its respective text inside another div or span.
What is justified in Word?
When you justify text in Word, you give your text straight edges on both sides of the paragraph. Justifying extends each line of your text to the left and right margins.
There are lots of reasons you might want to change the amount of space between lines in a paragraph, or between paragraphs themselves. Word offers some handy preset values to use, but you can also take full control by specifying exact spacing. Here’s how.
Changing the line or paragraph spacing in a document is not something you might need to do very often. But as anyone who’s had to turn in a paper with mandatory double spacing knows, it can be the difference between passing and failing. Outside of college, you still might be faced with line spacing guidelines by employers, clients, or publishers. And even in your own documents, the right spacing can make your document more readable or highlight parts of the documents on which you want your readers to focus . If the default spacing in Word doesn’t quite hit the spot for you, Word makes it easy to change.
They are both pretty much what they sound like. Line spacing is the amount of white space between two lines of text. Paragraph spacing is the amount of white space between two paragraphs. And like using the right font or proper margins, controlling spacing is an important part of document formatting.
RELATED: How to Embed Fonts in a Microsoft Word Document
And weird as it might sound at first, both line and paragraph spacing are applied at the paragraph level. Line spacing controls how all lines of a paragraph are spaced. Paragraph spacing controls how much space comes before and after the paragraph.
In Word, line spacing is most commonly measured in multiples of whatever font size the paragraph is using. For example, say you’re using a 12 point font for the text in your paragraph. If you choose single line spacing, the space between lines will be 12 points. If you choose double spacing, that space between lines will be 24 points. However, if you want to fine tune things, you can also specify an exact point size to use.
Paragraphs work a bit differently. By default, Word adds eight points of space after a paragraph and no additional space before the paragraph, and you can change both of those values however you like.
Let’s take a closer look at how to do all this.
Use Quick Presets for Easy Changes
Word has some common preset options for you to choose from. Remember that line and paragraph spacing are both applied at the paragraph level. If you place your insertion point in a paragraph, you’ll change things for that paragraph. If you select text from multiple paragraphs, you’ll change things for all those paragraphs.
Select all of the paragraphs you want to change (or place your insertion point anywhere in a single paragraph you want to change). On the Home tab, click the “Line and Paragraph Spacing” button.
This opens a dropdown menu with presets for line spacing (at the top) and paragraph spacing (at the bottom).
The line spacing is shown in multiples. “2.0” is double spacing, “3.0” is triple spacing, and so on. Select the multiple you want, and Word applies it to the selected paragraphs. If you want to choose another spacing, or revert to the original spacing, click the “Line and Paragraph Spacing” option again and select a different multiple.
The paragraph spacing only lets you add or remove a preset spacing before the paragraph or after the paragraph. And it’s kind of weird the way it works. If you currently have no spacing before or after a paragraph, the menu shows commands for adding spacing in both locations (as shown in the previous image). If you add a space in one location, that command changes to let you remove that spacing.
So, you can only ever add or remove one level of preset spacing with the menu commands. And what are those presets? 12 points for the spacing before the paragraph and 8 points for the spacing after.
These presets work well enough for simple changes to a few paragraphs. But what if you want to change the spacing on the whole document? You could select everything (Ctrl+A) and then use these same commands, but there are some better presets available if you want to change the whole document.
Use Additional Spacing Presets for Your Whole Document
Switch over to the “Design” tab, and then click the “Paragraph Spacing” button.
Now, even though that button is labeled “Paragraph Spacing,” the changes here can apply to both paragraph and line spacing for your document. As you hover your pointer over each preset, you can see the changes reflected in your document. You’ll also see a little text bubble pop up that lets you know exactly what line and paragraph spacing options that preset will apply.
This is an “all or nothing” option, so it’ll only work for the whole document, or not at all. Here’s what the Compact, Open, and Double presets look like on identical text.
At the bottom of that “Paragraph Spacing” dropdown menu, you can also click the “Custom Paragraph Spacing” command to open the Manage Styles window.
On the “Set Defaults” tab, the tools in the “Paragraph Spacing” section let you fine tune spacing for your document. You can also choose at the bottom whether to apply your changes only in the current document, or to all new documents based on the same template.
Apply Finer Control to Paragraph and Line Spacing
If you want a little more finesse than any of these presets we’ve covered offer, you do have another option (this is Word, after all).
First, place your insertion point in the paragraph you want to change (or select multiple paragraphs, or the whole document with Ctrl+A). On the “Home” tab, click the small arrow at the bottom right of the Paragraph group.
This opens the Paragraph window. On the “Indents and Spacing” tab, in the “Spacing” section, you can apply specific adjustments to both paragraph and line spacing.
On the left, you can use the “Before” and “After” controls to specify how much space you want before and after paragraphs. You’ve also got the option to keep your paragraph spacing from affecting blocks of text that are in different styles by switching on the “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style” checkbox. (If you’re not sure whether you’re using different styles then you probably aren’t.)
On the right in that section, the “Line Spacing” dropdown lets you choose all those same line spacing presets we looked at before, along with some other options.
These additional options include:
- At least: This option lets you specify a minimum point size to use for line spacing and is only useful in very specific circumstances. For example, say you had one line in a paragraph that for whatever reason used a smaller font size than the other lines. Regular spacing options might make it look weird. Choose a minimum spacing can help.
- Exactly: This option lets you specify an exact point size to use between lines of the selected paragraphs.
- Multiple: This options lets you dial in a specific multiple to use for spacing. For example, if 1.5 spacing seems too tight and 2.0 seems too wide, you could try something like 1.75.
Between these three options you’ve got complete control of all your document spacing, so now you can confidently double space that term paper or wow your colleagues with a perfectly formatted report.
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