Word space in microsoft word

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

1. Select the text that you want to change.

2. 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.

3. 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.

1. Select the text that you want to change.

2. 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.

3. 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.

1. Select the text that you want to stretch or compress.

2. 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.

3. 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.

1. Find the style you’re using in the Styles gallery on the Home tab.

2. Right-click the style you want to change and select Modify.

   

3. 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

• Using Styles in Word — a free, 10-minute video training course.

• Change the font size

• Set page margins

• Align text left or right, center text, or justify text on a page

• Change the line spacing in Word

Do you have a question about Word that we didn’t answer here?

Post a question in the Word Answers Community.

Help us improve Word

Do you have suggestions about how we can improve Word? Let us know by providing us feedback. See How do I give feedback on Microsoft 365? for more information.

While you might have experience changing the formatting for your Word documents to meet the requirements for your school or job, you might encounter a situation where you need to use different settings.

Microsoft Word is full of different tools and menus that let you customize your document, and line spacing is something that you can adjust.

Our tutorial below will show you how to single space in Word, even if you have already written and edited the entire document.

How to Make a Word Single Space Document

1. Open the document.
2. Click inside the document and press Ctrl + A to select everything.
3. Select the Home tab at the top of the window.
4. Click the Line and Paragraph Spacing button.
5. Choose the 1.0 option.

Our guide continues below with additional information on how to make a document single space instead of double space in Microsoft Word, including pictures of these steps.

Last update on 2023-04-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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Document spacing can impact several things, including the number of pages in the document. Microsoft Word includes several different options from which you can select to control the amount of space between the lines in your document.

Many schools and organizations have their own rules and preferences when it comes to the amount of line spacing that you have in your documents. Often they want you to use double spacing, but it’s entirely possible that they might want single spacing to reduce the number of pages in documents.

A document in Microsoft Word can have a lot of different formatting options, including the amount of space between lines.

If your current document is double spaced, or if it appears to have more or less spacing than the single spacing you need, you may be looking for a way to adjust that.

You can make a Microsoft Word single space document by opening the document, selecting all of the text, choosing the Home tab, clicking the Line and Paragraph Spacing button, then choosing the 1.0 option from the drop down menu.

Our guide below will show you how to single space in Word by selecting all of the text in the document and adjusting the line spacing setting.

You can also check out our tutorial on how to select all in Word if you would like to know more about using that option.

How to Use Single Spacing in Word for Office 365 (Guide with Pictures)

The steps in this article were performed in the Microsoft Word for Office 365 version of the application but will work in most other versions as well.

Step 1: Open your document in Microsoft Word.

Step 2: Click inside the document, then press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select everything.

If this is a new, blank document, you can skip this step.

Step 3: Select the Home tab at the top of the window.

Step 4: Click the Line & Paragraph Spacing button in the Paragraph section of the ribbon.

Step 5: Choose the 1.0 option from the dropdown menu to switch the document to single spacing.

Note that there is a Line Spacing Options button at the bottom of that dropdown menu.

If you select that option, you will be able to customize your document spacing further and set a new default spacing option if you would like.

Our tutorial continues below with additional discussion about how to make a document single spaced in Word.

You can also read our article on how to double space in Word for additional information about Microsoft Word line spacing.

How to Change Default Line Spacing in Microsoft Word

While you can change line spacing in every document that you create or edit in Microsoft Word, you might not want to adjust spacing every time.

But if your Word Normal template is defaulting to double spacing and you need to have single spacing more often, then constantly switching the line spaces can not only be tedious, it can be something that you forget to do.

Fortunately, among all of the different formatting adjustments that you can make for your document, there is a way to set the default line spacing.

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Select the Home tab.
3. Click Line and Paragraph Spacing.
4. Choose Line Spacing Options.
5. Click the Line spacing drop down.
6. Select your default line spacing preference.
7. Click Set as Default.
8. Choose All documents based on the Normal template.
9. Click OK.

Now any new documents that you create in Microsoft Word that use the Normal template will have the line spacing that you just chose.

this will not affect the line spacing in any of your existing documents.

More Information on How to Apply Single Line Spacing in Word

While we have focused on changing the line spacing setting in an MS Word document, for the entire document, you can also format a document so that only some of it is single spaced.

Rather than selecting the whole document, simply use your mouse to select the part of the document for which you want to change the spacing, then follow the steps above to apply a new line spacing setting to that selection.

Another thing that you can adjust that relates to line spacing is the paragraph space setting. This affects the amount of line spacing that appears before and after your paragraphs.

You can find the paragraph spacing settings by clicking the Home tab, then clicking the small Paragraph Settings button at the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph group in the ribbon. This will open the Paragraph dialog box.

There you can select line spacing options in the “Spacing” section so that you can choose the amount of space before and after a paragraph, as well as determine the line spacing type.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Make a Document Single Spaced in Word

To show non-printable and white-space symbols in Microsoft Word, click the button button Show/Hide ¶ (or pressing Ctrl+* or Ctrl+Shift+8):

You will be able to see the following marks for white-space characters:

   1)   A little dot between words represents a normal space (also called word space):

   2)   A degree symbols between word represents a nonbreaking space (also called non-breaking space, no-break space, non-breakable space (NBSP), hard space, or fixed space) that prevents text wrapping at the end of the line. A Nonbreaking space in the Word document looks like:

A general rule of publishing is to use non-breaking spaces between words of
organization and person names, postal addresses, etc.

Some popular rules:

   3)   A little dot with varying gaps before and after the dot represents Em Space and En Space. These spaces have different widths on printing:

• Em space is a space with the width of the lowercase m character.
• En space is a space with the width of the lowercase n character.

   4)   A vertical bar between words represents a ¼ Em space (also known as mid-space) is a space with the ¼ width of the lowercase m character:

If you want to see only space marks and no other non-printable symbols, do the following:

   1.   On the File tab, click the Options button:

   2.   In the Word Options dialog box, on the Display tab, under Always show these formatting marks on the screen, check or uncheck the Spaces option:

See also this tip in French:
Types d’espaces spéciaux dans les documents Word.

Double Space Lines in Microsoft Word Documents

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated January 11, 2023

Applies to: Microsoft^® Word^® 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

You can double space in Word using the Ribbon, the Paragraph dialog box, a keyboard shortcut or by modifying a style. If you double space a paragraph, you are setting the line spacing of the paragraph to 2.0. Since double spacing is a paragraph format, it’s important to understand that a paragraph in Word is anything with a hard return after it (you pressed Enter or Return).

A paragraph can include text or an inline picture or shape. Line spacing is applied within a paragraph which is different from space above and below a paragraph. To see where paragraphs have been created in a Word document, it’s helpful to turn on Show/Hide ¶ on the Home tab in the Ribbon.

Note that double space or 2.0 spacing is calculated by Word based on the font size of the selected text.

In this article, we’ll review 4 ways to double space in Word:

1. Use commands in the Ribbon
2. Use the Paragraph dialog box
3. Use a keyboard shortcut
4. Modify the Normal style (or another style)

Recommended article: How to Add or Remove Page Breaks in Microsoft Word

You should follow best practices in your Microsoft Word documents if you want to avoid issues with line spacing:

• Use wordwrapping when entering text (don’t press Enter until you reach the end of a paragraph).
• Delete blank paragraphs (often created when users press Enter twice after paragraphs).

Double space using the Ribbon

You can double space using two different tabs in the Ribbon – the Home tab or the Design tab.

To double space a Word document using the Design tab in the Ribbon:

1. Click in the Word document.
2. Click the Design tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click Paragraph Spacing in the Document Formatting group. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Select Double. This will change the entire document to double spacing.

The Paragraph Spacing command appears in the Design tab in the Ribbon as follows:

To double space specific paragraphs using the Home tab in the Ribbon in Word 2016 and later versions:

1. Select the paragraph(s) that you want to double space. If you want to select all paragraphs, press Ctrl + A.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and then click Line and Paragraph Spacing in the Paragraph group. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Click 2.0 to double space.

The Line and Paragraph Spacing button appears as follows in newer versions of Word (2016 and later):

The Line and Paragraph Spacing drop-down menu offers the following options:

To double space specific paragraphs using the Home tab in the Ribbon in Word 2013:

1. Select the paragraph(s) you want to double space. If you want to select all paragraphs, press Ctrl + A.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon and then click Double in the Paragraph group.

Line spacing buttons appear as follows in Word 2010 or 2013:

Double space using the Paragraph dialog box

To double space one or more paragraphs using the Paragraph dialog box:

1. Select the paragraph(s) you want to double space. If you want to select all paragraphs, press Ctrl + A.
2. Right-click and select Paragraph from the drop-down menu. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
3. Click the Indents and Spacing tab if necessary.
4. From the Line spacing drop-down menu, select Double.
5. Click OK.

Below is the Paragraph dialog box:

Double space using a keyboard shortcut

To use a keyboard shortcut to double space one or more paragraphs in a Word document:

1. Select the paragraph(s) you want to double space. If you want to select all paragraphs, press Ctrl + A.
2. Press Ctrl + 2 to double space.

If you want to change a paragraph back to single spacing, press Ctrl + 1 to single space.

Double space by modifying the Normal style

When you create a new blank document, it starts out using the Normal style which contains default paragraph and character formatting. You can modify line spacing in the Normal style (as long as another style has not been used for standard paragraphs) and change your entire document. If manual line spacing has been applied to one or more paragraph(s), this overrides the Normal style.

To double space a Word document by modifying the Normal style:

1. Click in a paragraph using the Normal style.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Styles group, right-click Normal and select Modify from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears.
4. Click Format at the bottom left of the dialog box. A drop-down menu appears.
5. Click Paragraph. The Paragraph dialog box appears.
6. Click the Indents and Spacing tab if necessary.
7. From the Line spacing drop-down menu, select Double.
8. Click OK.
9. Ensure that Only in this document is selected.
10. Click OK.

Below is the Modify Style dialog box:

You may encounter issues if you modify spacing in the Normal style since other styles are based on this style by default. Cells in tables would likely be affected and so would other styles that are based on the Normal style (such as Header, Footer and Heading styles). Paragraphs using these styles would then also be double spaced (unless spacing has been specifically modified in these styles). If you are comfortable using styles, you could create your own style for double spaced paragraphs or use and modify a different Word style to avoid this issue.

You can right-click other styles and modify the spacing in the same way.

This article was first published on October 24, 2019 and has been updated for clarity and content.

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More resources

How to Create a Hanging Indent in Word

How to Insert a Line in Microsoft Word (3+ Ways)

How to Check Word Count in Microsoft Word (4 Ways)

How to Use Kerning in Microsoft Word to Adjust Letter Spacing

How to Insert or Type an Em or En Dash in Word (4 Ways with Shortcuts)

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Spruce up the formatting in your Word docs

What to Know

• To fix spacing between words, go to Find and Replace. Enter a space in both fields, then go to More > Format > Font and choose a font size.
• To adjust spacing between characters, go to Home, select Expand (the down-arrow) next to Font, and select the Advanced tab.
• To change spacing between lines, go to Home and select Expand (the down-arrow) next to Paragraph and adjust the Spacing options.

This article explains how to fix spacing in Word 2021, 2019, 2016, and Word for Microsoft 365.

How to Fix Spacing Between Words in Word

Using different fonts or font sizes in your document can lead to inconsistent spacing between words. Follow these steps to adjust the spacing between words without affecting the space between letters:

To show paragraph breaks and spaces, go to the Home tab and select the Show/Hide icon (¶) in the Paragraph group.

1. Highlight the text you want to change and select the Home tab. Press Ctrl+A (Windows) or Cmd+A (Mac) to highlight the entire document.

2. Select Replace in the Editing group.

   On Mac, go to Edit > Find > Advanced Find and Replace, then select the Replace tab.

3. Click in the Find what text field and press your spacebar to create a space.

4. Click in the Replace with field and press your spacebar to create a space.

5. Select More to expand the window.

6. Select Format and choose Font.

7. Under Size, choose the font size you use most consistently throughout the document, then select OK.

8. Select Replace All.

9. In a new window, Word will report the number of replacements. Select Yes to apply changes to the entire document, or select No to change only the highlighted text.

The spacing between words should now be consistent. You can now close the Find and Replace window.

Don’t add multiple spaces between words because it makes formatting the entire document more difficult.

You can justify text in Word if you want to expand word spacing so the right margin is always straight (like a newspaper column).

How Do I Fix Spacing Between Characters?

To adjust the spacing between characters (letters, numbers, symbols, etc.), follow these steps:

1. Highlight the text you want to change and select the Home tab.

2. Next to Font, select Expand (the down-arrow).

3. Go to the Advanced tab. To stretch or compress the text, increase or decrease Scaling. For Spacing, choose Expanded or Condensed to adjust the spacing between all characters.

   Select Kerning for fonts to enable text kerning. This feature automatically adjusts the spacing between characters to be more aesthetically pleasing. You can choose to kern characters above a certain size.

How to Fix Line Spacing in Word

Follow these steps to change the amount of space between lines within a paragraph:

To adjust the spacing between paragraphs, go to the Design tab, select Paragraph Spacing and choose from the options. For single spacing, choose No Paragraph Space.

1. Highlight the text you want to change and select the Home tab.

2. Next to Paragraph, select Expand (the down-arrow).

3. In the Spacing section, manually set the amount of space before and after line breaks, or choose one of the options under Line spacing. Select the Line and Page Breaks tab for more advanced options like text wrapping and pagination settings.

   When you’re done, select OK to save changes.

FAQ

• How do I change the tab spacing in Word?

  The quickest way to set tab stops is to click the ruler where you want a tab. Alternatively, go to the Home tab and select Paragraph Settings in the Paragraph group. Next, select the Tabs button. Finally, set the desired Tab stop position, click Set, and click OK.

• How do I fix the spacing between bullet points in Word?

  To change line spacing between bullets in a list, select the list and then click the Paragraph Dialog Box Launcher. On the Indents and Spacing tab, under Spacing, clear the Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style check box.

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