Open the paragraph spacing menu in Word

Line spacing in Word is controlled through the Paragraph dialog, which you reach from the Home tab. Select the text you want to change — or click anywhere in a paragraph if you want to change just that one. Then click the small arrow in the bottom right corner of the Paragraph group on the Home tab. This opens a box with spacing options.

If you cannot find that arrow, look for the word "Paragraph" with a small diagonal arrow next to it. It sits to the right of the indent and spacing buttons. Clicking it opens the full dialog where line spacing lives.

Key Takeaways

  • Line spacing is found in the Paragraph dialog, opened from a small arrow in the Home tab's Paragraph group.
  • Word offers preset options like Single, 1.5 Lines, and Double, plus a Custom option for exact measurements.
  • You can change spacing for a single paragraph, multiple paragraphs, or your entire document at once.
  • The line spacing you set becomes the default for any new text you type in that paragraph.

Choose from Word's preset spacing options

Once the Paragraph dialog opens, look for the Line spacing dropdown near the bottom. Word offers five standard choices: Single, 1.15 Lines, 1.5 Lines, Double, and At least. Most people use Single for normal documents and Double when a document needs to be reviewed or edited by hand.

Single spacing means lines sit directly on top of each other with minimal air between them. 1.5 Lines adds 50 percent more space. Double spacing puts a full blank line between each line of text. If you pick "At least," Word will not compress the spacing even if you have very tall text or images in the paragraph.

Set a custom line spacing measurement

If the preset options do not match what you need, use the Custom option. In the same Line spacing dropdown, select "Exactly" or "Multiple." Exactly lets you type a specific measurement in points — for example, 18 pt gives you a fixed distance between lines. Multiple lets you type a decimal number, so 1.25 gives you 25 percent more space than single spacing.

Type your number in the box next to the dropdown. If you choose Exactly, the measurement box appears automatically. If you choose Multiple, type the number you want — 1.5 for one and a half spacing, 2 for double, or any decimal in between. Click OK when you are done.

explore spacing to one paragraph or the whole document

To change spacing in just one paragraph, click anywhere inside that paragraph and open the Paragraph dialog. The change affects only that paragraph. To change multiple paragraphs at once, click at the start of the first one, hold Shift, and click at the end of the last one. All selected paragraphs will change together.

To change spacing for your entire document, press Ctrl+A to select all text, then open the Paragraph dialog and set your spacing. Every paragraph in the document will use the new spacing. This is useful when you are starting a new document and want consistent spacing from the beginning.

Understand how Word measures line spacing

Line spacing is measured from the bottom of one line of text to the bottom of the next line. Single spacing uses the height of the text itself plus a small amount of automatic padding. When you choose 1.5 Lines, Word adds 50 percent more space than that total. Double spacing doubles it.

If your text contains very large font sizes or images, Word may automatically increase the spacing to fit them, even if you set a specific measurement. This is why the "At least" option exists — it tells Word to use your spacing as a minimum but go larger if needed. Exactly forces Word to stick to your number no matter what, which can cause text to overlap if you set it too small.

Change the default spacing for new documents

If you want every new document you create to use a specific line spacing, you can set it as your default. Open a blank document, set your line spacing in the Paragraph dialog, then click the small arrow in the bottom left corner of that dialog labeled "Set as Default." Word will ask you to confirm — click Yes. From that point forward, all new documents will start with your chosen spacing.

This default applies only to documents you create from Word's blank template. If you open a document someone else created, it keeps its original spacing. Changing the default does not affect documents that already exist.

Troubleshoot spacing that does not change

If you set line spacing and nothing appears to happen, check whether you selected the text first. Clicking in a paragraph without selecting it changes only that paragraph. If you wanted to change the whole document, use Ctrl+A before opening the dialog.

Another common issue is that spacing looks different on screen than in print. Word shows spacing on screen the way it will print, but your monitor's zoom level can make it look compressed. Zoom to 100 percent to see the true spacing. If spacing still looks wrong after printing, check whether your printer has its own spacing settings — some printers override document settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between line spacing and paragraph spacing?

Line spacing is the distance between lines within a paragraph. Paragraph spacing is the distance between one paragraph and the next. Both are set in the Paragraph dialog, but line spacing controls vertical space inside a paragraph while paragraph spacing controls the gap after it ends.

Can I set different line spacing for different parts of my document?

Yes. Select only the text you want to change and open the Paragraph dialog. The spacing you set applies only to the selected text. You can have single spacing in one section and double spacing in another by selecting and changing each section separately.

Why does my line spacing look different when I print?

Your printer may have margin or spacing settings that override Word's settings. Check your printer preferences before printing. Also, some fonts display spacing differently than others — a decorative font may look more compressed than a standard font at the same spacing setting.

Does line spacing affect how many pages my document uses?

Yes. Double spacing uses roughly twice as much vertical space as single spacing, so a document with double spacing will be longer. If you need to fit a document to a specific page count, adjusting line spacing is one way to do it.

What happens to line spacing if I change my font size?

If you use preset options like Single or Double, the spacing adjusts automatically when you change font size. If you set an Exactly measurement in points, the spacing stays the same even if you change the font size, which can look wrong. Use Multiple or a preset option if you plan to change font sizes.