The default line spacing in Ms Word (as well as in Google Docs) is 1.15. Double spacing is the commonly used line spacing for document after the default. There are four different ways to double space in Word.
Three different ways to do double spacing in Ms Word
1. Double spacing of selected text using Line and Paragraph Spacing Option
- Select the text that you need to double space. To select the entire document, you can use the “Ctrl + A” for Windows or “Command + A” for MacOS.
- Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing in Paragraph Group and select 2.0
2. Double spacing of selected text using Keyboard Shortcut
- Select the text that you need to double space. To select the entire document, you can use the “Ctrl + A” for Windows or “Command + A” for MacOS.
- Hit “Ctrl + 2” (Windows) or “Command + 2” (Mac) for double space.
3. Double line spacing using Styles
Ms Word is attaches almost every thing to styles (Heading1, Title, Normal etc) which can have their own formatting. By default text are styled as ‘Normal”.
By simply changing format of particular style, you can change format (including spacing) of all the text of that style.
To change line spacing of a style say “Normal”:
- Go to Home tab, right click desired style that you need to apply double spacing (e.g. Normal) and click Modify to open modify style window.
2. To set double line spacing, go to Format >Paragraph to open paragraph window
3. In Indents and Spacing tab, set Line space as Double.
4. Close “Paragraph” and “Modify Style” window by clicking ok
Summary
To set double line spacing of the selected text, go to Home > Line & Paragraph Spacing in Paragraph Group and select 2.0 or simply hit “Ctrl + 2” (Windows) or “Command + 2” (Mac), a shortcut for double spacing.
C P Gupta is a YouTuber and Blogger. He is expert in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. His YouTube channel @pickupbrain is very popular and has crossed 9.9 Million Views.