How to Double Space in Word on iPad

To double-space text in Word on your iPad, select the text, open the Home tab, tap Line Spacing, and choose 2.0. Select the whole document first if you want the change everywhere; otherwise, Word changes only the selected paragraphs. You need the Word app and an editable document.

What You’ll Need

An iPad with the Microsoft Word app installed and the document open.
A document you can edit. If it opens in read-only mode, switch to editing if that option is available or make an editable copy.
Your finger, or an external keyboard if you prefer to select all text with a shortcut.

Step-by-Step

Open the document in Word. Launch Microsoft Word, open the file, and wait for it to finish loading. Check that you are in editing mode rather than a preview or read-only view. If Word displays an editing prompt, choose the option to edit the document. If you cannot edit the file, check its permissions or save a separate editable copy before changing the formatting.
Decide whether to change all text or just part of it. To double-space only a section, find its first paragraph. To apply the setting throughout the document, select all of the document’s text first. Making this choice before opening the spacing controls helps avoid changing headings or other paragraphs by accident.
Select the text you want to format. For a passage, touch and hold a word until the selection appears. Drag the selection handles to cover the full passage or paragraphs you want to change. To select the entire document, touch and hold in the text and choose Select All if it appears in the pop-up menu. With an external keyboard connected, tap in the document and press Command+A to select all. Check the highlighted area: if only one word or paragraph is selected, only that part will be affected.
Open the Home formatting controls. Tap Home on the ribbon if it is not already active. Look for the paragraph-formatting controls and the Line Spacing button, usually shown as horizontal lines with an up-and-down arrow. On a compact screen, you may need to expand the ribbon or tap its overflow button, often shown as an ellipsis, to see more controls. Ribbon layout can vary slightly by app version and screen size.
Choose 2.0. Tap Line Spacing to open the spacing choices, then tap 2.0. Word applies double line spacing to the selected text. If the menu shows a different current value, choosing 2.0 replaces it for the selection; you do not need to tap the control twice or insert extra blank lines.
Check the result and selection. Tap in an unselected area to remove the highlight and inspect the changed paragraphs. The lines within each paragraph should have more vertical space between them. If you selected the whole document, scroll through a few pages and check headings, lists, and the final page as well as the opening paragraph.
Save or confirm the document is saved. Word commonly saves changes to a cloud-stored file automatically, but wait for any saving indicator to finish. If the file is stored locally or Word asks you to save, use its save option before closing the document. Reopen it if necessary to confirm the formatting persisted.

For a single paragraph, you can often avoid dragging across every character: tap inside that paragraph and apply 2.0. Paragraph formatting generally applies to the paragraph containing the insertion point. For several paragraphs, select text across all of them, or tap and drag to include each paragraph. When formatting a full document, selecting all is the clearest way to ensure that paragraphs with different existing spacing are included.

Common Mistakes

Adding blank lines instead of changing line spacing. Pressing Return twice between lines creates extra paragraphs, not double spacing. This can make the document uneven, alter paragraph breaks, and cause blank gaps to move when the text reflows. Use the 2.0 line-spacing option instead. If you already inserted empty paragraphs, remove the extra paragraph breaks and then apply the spacing setting.

Changing only the current paragraph by mistake. If no text is selected, formatting may apply just to the paragraph where the cursor is placed. A document can then look partly double-spaced and partly unchanged. Before tapping 2.0, verify that the intended passage is highlighted. For a full-document change, use Select All and inspect the selection before formatting.

Confusing line spacing with paragraph spacing. Line spacing controls the distance between lines within a paragraph. Spacing before or after a paragraph controls the gap between separate paragraphs. A document can have double-spaced lines and still have extra gaps between paragraphs, or have widely separated paragraphs while the lines themselves remain single-spaced. If the lines within a paragraph have not changed, check the Line Spacing menu rather than adding paragraph space.

Expecting every page element to respond alike. Text in a table, text box, header, footer, or other separate area may need to be selected and formatted separately. Similarly, selecting only the body text will not necessarily include a title or text in a header. Check special areas individually if the document has them.

Tips

Use a small test selection first. If you are unsure which controls are visible or how the selection works, select one ordinary paragraph and apply 2.0. Once you see the expected result, undo the change if needed, select the correct larger area, and apply it again. This is especially useful in a long document where a misplaced selection can be hard to notice.

Keep headings intentional. A teacher or editor may want the body double-spaced but headings single-spaced, or may expect the entire paper to use 2.0. Follow the requested format rather than assuming. If headings should stay unchanged, select the body paragraphs without including the heading text. If the instructions say everything, select all and review the headings afterward.

Check lists and tables after formatting. Double spacing can make a numbered list or table take up substantially more room, pushing content onto another page. Review list indentation, table row heights, and page breaks after applying the change. If the document is being submitted or printed, check the final page count and make sure no content has been clipped.

Use the visible setting as your guide. A document may already contain a mixture of spacing values. Selecting the passage and choosing 2.0 explicitly is more reliable than trying to infer the current setting from how the page looks. Screen zoom, font size, and paragraph spacing can all make visual comparisons misleading.

Troubleshooting

The Line Spacing button is missing: Confirm that Home is selected, then expand the ribbon or open its overflow menu. Rotate the iPad or adjust the Word window size if the app is in a layout that hides controls. The available space and ribbon arrangement can change with screen size and app updates. If needed, update Word from the App Store and reopen the document.

Nothing appears to change: First tap inside a paragraph and set it to 2.0 as a quick test. If that works, the earlier selection may not have included the intended text. Select the passage again, confirm its highlight, and apply 2.0. Also check that you are editing the document rather than viewing a preview, and that you selected line spacing rather than paragraph spacing.

Only some paragraphs changed: The selection probably stopped before the remaining paragraphs, or some content is in a separate text area. Select the missed paragraphs and repeat the same steps. For a document-wide change, select all again and check that the whole text area is highlighted. Headers, footers, text boxes, and some table content may require their own selection.

The text has large gaps between paragraphs: Double line spacing does not require empty lines between paragraphs. Remove any unintended blank paragraphs. Then inspect the paragraph-spacing controls if the gap between paragraphs remains noticeably larger than the gap between lines. Keep any extra paragraph spacing only if it is part of the required document style.

The setting disappears after closing Word: Check that saving has completed and that you reopened the same file, especially if you have multiple copies with similar names. If the document is shared, make sure you have permission to edit it and that your changes are not being overwritten by another version. You can also try saving an editable copy and applying the formatting there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I double-space the whole document on Word for iPad?
Yes. Select all text before choosing Home > Line Spacing > 2.0. Review headers, footers, text boxes, and other separate areas individually, because they may not be included in the main text selection.

How do I double-space just one paragraph?
Tap inside the paragraph, open the Home tab, tap Line Spacing, and choose 2.0. If the result affects more text than you intended, undo it and select the exact paragraph before applying the setting again.

Is 2.0 the same as double spacing?
Yes. In Word’s line-spacing choices, 2.0 is the standard option for double line spacing. It changes the distance between lines within the selected paragraph or paragraphs.

Why is double-spaced text still showing big gaps between paragraphs?
Line spacing and spacing before or after paragraphs are separate settings. Double spacing affects the lines within a paragraph; paragraph spacing adds room around paragraph boundaries. Remove extra blank paragraphs or adjust paragraph spacing if the gaps are not wanted.

Can I double-space with an iPad keyboard?
Yes. Use the keyboard to select text, including Command+A to select all while the document is active, then use the touch ribbon to choose Home > Line Spacing > 2.0. The keyboard shortcut selects text; the ribbon menu sets the spacing.

Will this change apply to new documents?
Applying 2.0 to a document changes the selected text in that document; it does not necessarily change the default for future files. For a new document, check its spacing and choose 2.0 when needed. If you regularly need a specific format, start from a suitable template or document that already uses it.

Try it: the Date Difference Calculator: days, months, years and weekdays between two dates, with the DATEDIF formulas.

More in How-to basics

Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

Spotted an error in this guide? Let us know.