How to change line spacing in Word

How to change line spacing in Word: While typing or when designing a document, along with the size and type of font, line spacing in Word plays an important role. The readability of the text depends on this, line spacing refers to the formatting options in Microsoft Word.

The distance between two lines, known as line spacing in Word, affects the visual perception of textual information. For example, if the spacing is too small, then such text will be difficult to read, and with a larger spacing, the text looks scattered, which also does not contribute to comfortable reading.

Content:

1. How to change line spacing in Word – 1 way
2. How to change line spacing in Word – 2 way
3. How to change line spacing in Word – Method 3
4. How to change line spacing in Word – 4 way
5. Article Conclusions

Line spacing determines the spacing between lines in the text of a Word document. The spacing between lines of text directly depends on the size of the font used. The distance is taken into account between the base lines of each line, passing strictly in the center of the letters (taking into account their upper and lower elements).

In many cases, when typing text, single line spacing is used, which is equal to the font size of the text. One and a half line spacing is also often used, which is used in the design of essays, term papers and diplomas.

Along with other options, double spacing is used to increase the space between lines of text. This doubles the space between the lines of the document because you are adding a full line of white space between each line of text.

Which line spacing to choose depends on the tasks to be solved and the requirements for the design of the Word document.

In this guide, you will find instructions on how to make line spacing in Word, and how to adjust line spacing using custom options.

How to make line spacing in Word – 1 way

You can quickly increase Word’s line spacing using the text editor’s built-in options. This method can be applied in versions of MS Word 2021, MS Word 2019, MS Word 2016, MS Word 2013.

Go through the following steps:

1. Open a Word document.
2. Enter the “Constructor” (“Design”) tab.
3. In the Document Formatting group, find and click the Paragraph Spacing button.
4. The drop-down menu offers the following options:

• The default is 1.08 line spacing.
• None – line spacing “1”.
• Compressed – line spacing “1”.
• Narrow – line spacing “1.15”.
• Loose – line spacing “1.15”.
• Free – line spacing “1.5”.
• Double – line spacing “2”.

By moving the mouse cursor between these items, you can visually observe changes in the spacing between lines of text.

Choose one of the appropriate options. When you select any of the suggested options, the changes are applied to the entire Word document.

You can create your own line spacing style. To do this, select the item “Custom spacing between paragraphs …”.

In the “Manage Styles” window, after opening the “Default” tab, you can change the line spacing. Specify appropriate values ​​in the Interval group. In the style options, in addition to the spacing between the lines of a paragraph, it is possible to change the spacing before or after the paragraph.

How to change line spacing in Word – 2 way

If necessary, you can set a custom line spacing in a Word document.

To change the line spacing in Word, follow these steps:

1. In the window of an open Word document, select the desired paragraphs. If you need to apply changes to all text, press the “Ctrl” + “A” keys to select it.
2. Right-click on the selection.
3. Select “Paragraph” from the context menu.
4. In the Paragraph window, on the Indents and Spacing tab, there are line spacing options. In the “Interval” group, in the “interline:” column, select the desired interval:

• Multiplier – independent setting of line spacing. If you haven’t made any changes, the settings show the default value.

Word 2021-2013 versions use 1.08 line spacing by default, which is slightly more than single-spaced. In versions of Word 2010-2007, the default value is “1.15”.

• Single – the spacing size is equal to the current font size of the paragraph text.
• 1.5 lines – spacing is equal to one and a half paragraph text font size.
• Double spacing is equal to twice the paragraph text font size.
• Minimum — the interval is not less than the size specified in the settings items.
• Exactly — the interval exactly corresponds to the size specified in points.
• Click on the “OK” button for the changes to take effect.

Single, 1.5 line, and Double spacing depend on the height of the current font. If you increase the font size, then the size of the interval between the lines of the paragraph will increase proportionally.

In the intervals “Minimum” and “Exactly” the exact value of the line spacing in “points” (typographical points) is set. In case of increasing or decreasing the font height, the line spacing does not change.

How to change line spacing in Word – Method 3

Check out another way to set the spacing between lines of a paragraph yourself, choosing the appropriate option.

Do the following:

1. In an open Word document, go to the “Home” tab.
2. Select the required paragraphs.
3. In the Paragraph group, click on the Spacing button.
4. In the menu that opens, select the required line spacing of the paragraph:

• 1.0;
• 1.15;
• 1.5;
• 2.0;
• 2.5;
• 3.0;

There are options here to add spacing before and after a paragraph, or you can choose other options for line spacing. You can then apply the selected settings to the current document or to new documents using the current template.

How to change line spacing in Word – 4 way

There is an easy way to change line spacing when editing a MS Word document. With this method, you can specify single (line spacing 1), one and a half (line spacing 1.5), and double (line spacing 2).

To change line spacing in text, follow these steps:

1. In the open window of the Word text editor, position the mouse pointer in the desired paragraph of text.
2. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to set the required options:

• “Ctrl” + “1” – single spacing;
• “Ctrl” + “5” – one and a half interval;
• “Ctrl” + “2” – double spacing.

Article Conclusions

Font height and type, as well as line spacing, play an important role in the visual perception of text in a Word document. The spacing can be changed by increasing or decreasing the space between lines of text. If necessary, the user can apply ready-made line spacing options in Word or independently adjust the line spacing of a paragraph during the design of the document.