Word table text line spacing

Cell Margins and Cell Spacing are two important settings in any Microsoft Word Table but they aren’t used much and not well understood.

Cell margins are the spaces between your text and the edge of the cell. They can be set separately for the top, bottom, and either side of the cells.

To change the cell margins, we again click in the table and go to the Layout tab on the right. Then click Cell Margins in the Alignment group.

In the Table Options dialog that opens, use the spinners to incrementally change each of the four margins, or simply type in the margin that you want into each field; Top, Bottom, Left or Right.

The margins we’ve selected above are quite large, just to show you clearly how his setting changes your table.  Here’s the large cell margins (left) compared to zero cell margins (right).

You can, of course have different margins on different sides:

Individual, Row or Column Cell Margins

Table cell margins can be changed for a row, column or even a single cell, but it’s nowhere near the main Cell Margins ribbon button.

Select the column, row or cell you want to change then go to Table Layout | Table | Properties | Cell | Options.  UNcheck the box ‘Same at the whole table’ then change the margin settings.

Here’s a single row, highlighted a little by increasing the top & bottom cell margins.

Why Adjust Table Cell Margins?

Cell margins are useful to separate lines in a table, especially when there’s no gridlines. Change the Top & Bottom cell margins to separate the lines and improve readability.

When space is tight, reducing the default left & right cell margins can help fit a table or contents into the available space.

Cell Spacing Tricks in Word Tables

Word’s Table Options have an interesting choice, Cell Spacing. While cell margins are the space between the text and the edge of the cell, cell spacing puts space around each of the cells.

Cell spacing has a surprising effect on the look of a Word Table with single line borders.

Go to Table | Alignment | Cell Margins | Default cell spacing | Allow spacing between cells.

The default is OFF with no spacing.

Here’s how a Table looks using a standard single line border but increasing the cell spacing from the default, Zero.

Changes to Table Borders

As you can see, the single line table border becomes a twin gridline just by adding cell spacing to the same table.

Word table with Footnotes

Merge Cells in Word tables

Word tables for formatting magic

Indexing ‘bug’ in Word tables

Anne is having problems getting the spacing above and below her tables to work properly. The paragraph styles she uses for her document body have 6 points before and 6 points after, which provides an aggregated 12 points between paragraphs. However, this spacing doesn’t seem to apply (at least not properly) before and after tables. She is looking for the best way to control spacing before and after tables.

There are only two ways to adjust the spacing, and the method you use depends on how the table itself is formatted within your document.

Tables can be either inline or not, the same as text boxes and graphics. When you insert a table it is, by default, inserted inline. You can adjust spacing before and after a table my making it non-inline, which is a particularly good approach if your table extends across the entire width of the page. Follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the table. Word displays a Context menu.
2. Select Table Properties from the Context menu. Word displays the Table Properties dialog box.
3. Make sure the Table tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Table tab of the Table Properties dialog box.

4. In the Text Wrapping area, click the Around icon. The Positioning button is activated.
5. Click the Positioning button. Word displays the Table Positioning dialog box. (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. The Table Positioning dialog box.

6. Adjust the Top and Bottom settings to reflect how much space you want left before and after the table. (If your table doesn’t extend the entire width of the page, you should also adjust the Left and Right settings.)
7. Click OK to close the Table Positioning dialog box.
8. Click OK to close the Table Properties dialog box.

There is one drawback with this approach: Your table now is treated as an independent element in the document, which means that text can flow around it. If you need the table to always be after a particular paragraph, then you’ll want to check after any heavy editing that it is still where you expect it to be.

If you want your table to remain inline, then the proper approach to take is to adjust the spacing on the paragraph immediately before the table and the paragraph immediately after the table. If you are using styles, as Anne does, the easiest way to do this is to create two additional styles based on whatever body style you are using in your document. One style would be for the paragraph before the table and the other for the paragraph after.

For instance, let’s say you create two styles called TableBefore and TableAfter. You could format the TableBefore style so that the Space After setting is however-many points you want to appear between the text and the table. You can then format the TableAfter style so that the Space Before setting is likewise reflective of the space you want after the table. Apply the styles appropriately, and your table should appear «spaced» properly.

It should be noted that it does no good to try to adjust the spacing of any of the paragraphs within the table, particularly if the table has borders visible. That will only adjust the spacing within the table cell in which the paragraph is located and won’t affect the actual space between the table and the surrounding paragraphs.

Author Bio

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen…

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 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

1. Select one or more paragraphs, or click the text box or shape with the text you want to change.
2. In the Format sidebar, click the Style button near the top.
3. 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

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

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.
3. 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

1. In your Word document, select the text you want to change.
2. On your iPad, tap the Home tab, and then tap the Line Spacing icon.
3. 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

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 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.

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.

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

1. Click on File and Style….
2. Select Normal and click Modify….
3. 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.
4. 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.