Change Line Spacing

Line Spacing refers to the empty space between lines, and optionally the space between paragraphs in Microsoft Word documents

 

Control space between lines in the document

  • Select the paragraphs or entire document

  • Go to Home tab > Paragraph group > click Line and Paragraph Spacing

  • Do one of the following:

    • Click the desired number of line spaces in the drop down list

    • Click Line Spacing Options

  • In the Paragraph dialog box, do the following:

    • Under Spacing section, click the Line spacing down arrow

    • Select a desired spacing option

      • Single - this option accommodates the largest font in that line, plus a small amount of extra space. The amount of extra space varies depending on the font that is used.

      • 1.5 lines - this option is one-and-one-half times that of single line spacing.

      • Double - this option is twice that of single line spacing.

      • At least - this option sets the minimum line spacing that is needed to fit the largest font or graphic on the line. 

      • Exactly - this option sets fixed line spacing, expressed in points. For example, if the text is in a 10-point font, you can specify 12 points as the line spacing. 

      • Multiple - this option sets line spacing that can be expressed in numbers greater than 1. For example, setting line spacing to 1.15 will increase the space by 15 percent, and setting line spacing to 3 increases the space by 300 percent (triple spacing)

 

Control spaces between paragraphs

  • Select the paragraph or entire document

  • Go to Home tab > Paragraph group > click Line and Paragraph Spacing > select Line Spacing Options

  • In the Paragraph dialog box, select number of spaces between paragraphs at Before and After


Remove the space between paragraphs

  • Go to Home tab > Paragraph group > click Line and Paragraph Spacing
  • Select Remove Space Before Paragraph or Remove Space After Paragraph from the drop down list




Access quickly the Paragraph dialog box

Do one of the following:
  • Right-click the selected text > select Paragraph from the shortcut menu > choose Indent and Spacing tab

  • Go to Home tab > click  the Paragraph Dialog Box Launcher > choose Indent and Spacing tab