How to Double Space Lines in Microsoft Word

To double-space text in Microsoft Word, select the text, open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and choose 2.0. To apply it to the whole document, select everything first. Double spacing makes lines easier to read and leaves room for notes or edits; you do not need to install anything, but you should know whether you want to change one section or the entire document.

What You’ll Need

A document open in Microsoft Word. These instructions use Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows; the Mac and web differences are noted below.
Text in the document, if you want to change existing content. For a new document, you can set the spacing before you start typing.
Permission to edit the document. A file opened in read-only mode may not let you change paragraph formatting until you enable editing or save an editable copy.

Step-by-Step

Open the document and decide what to change. If you want every paragraph in the document to be double-spaced, click in the document body and select all the text. On Windows, press Ctrl+A. On a Mac, press Command+A. If the document has multiple sections, headers, footers, or text boxes, selection behavior can vary; check those areas separately if they also need the same spacing. To change only part of the document, drag across the paragraphs you want or click in a single paragraph without selecting anything. Word applies paragraph formatting to the paragraph where the insertion point sits, even if you have not highlighted its words.
Go to the Home tab. In the ribbon at the top of Word, select Home. Find the Paragraph group. The Line and Paragraph Spacing control usually shows horizontal lines with vertical arrows. If the ribbon is collapsed or the Word window is narrow, expand the ribbon or widen the window to find the control. You can also use the ribbon search box and search for line spacing if you cannot locate it.
Open the spacing menu and choose 2.0. Select Line and Paragraph Spacing, then click 2.0 in the menu. The selected text or current paragraph should immediately show more space between lines. The menu may also include options such as 1.0, 1.15, and 1.5; choose 2.0 specifically for double spacing. Do not choose an option that only adds space before or after a paragraph if your goal is to increase the spacing between lines within each paragraph.
Check the result across the document. Scroll through several pages, including headings, lists, and the end of the file. If you selected all the text, the line spacing should be doubled in the selected paragraphs. If only some lines changed, check whether the selection ended before a paragraph mark or whether the text is in a separate text box, header, or footer. Repeat the selection and apply 2.0 to any missed content.
Use the keyboard shortcut if you prefer. In Word for Windows, select the paragraphs and press Ctrl+2 to apply double line spacing. In Word for Mac, select the paragraphs and press Command+2. These shortcuts affect the selected paragraphs, or the paragraph containing the insertion point. If a shortcut is intercepted by another app or does not work in your Word version, use the ribbon menu instead.
Set spacing for text you will type next. Click at the end of the document or in the paragraph where you want to continue, choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0, and then keep typing. To start a separate new document already set to double spacing, create the document, apply 2.0 to its starting paragraph, and type. For documents where this needs to be the standard every time, adjust the default style as described in Tips rather than reformatting each file.
Save the document. Press Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. If Word asks whether to save changes to a cloud file or a local copy, choose the intended location. Saving preserves the formatting, but it does not guarantee that a different app or an exported plain-text file will display it identically.

Mac and web note: Word for Mac has the same basic ribbon approach: select the text, choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and select 2.0. In Word for the web, use the Home tab and its line-and-paragraph spacing menu; the available commands can be more limited than in the desktop app. If the ribbon labels or layout differ slightly, look for the spacing menu in the Paragraph group.

Common Mistakes

Changing only one paragraph by accident. Clicking in a paragraph and choosing 2.0 changes that paragraph, not necessarily the entire document. Select all body text first when the requirement applies everywhere, then inspect separate text boxes and headers or footers as needed.
Confusing line spacing with paragraph spacing. Double line spacing increases the space between lines within a paragraph. The options for adding space before or after paragraphs create larger gaps between paragraphs instead. If the lines inside a paragraph still look close together, check the actual line-spacing setting rather than repeatedly adding paragraph space.
Selecting too much or too little. Ctrl+A or Command+A is convenient, but it can include content you did not intend to reformat, such as a title, table, or other section. Conversely, selecting only visible words can miss the paragraph mark and leave a paragraph’s formatting inconsistent. Review the result, especially around paragraph breaks.
Expecting a blank line after every line. Double spacing is a line-height setting, not the same as inserting empty paragraphs. Do not press Enter after every line to make the page look spaced out; that creates extra paragraph breaks and makes later editing difficult.
Assuming every object follows the body text. Text in a shape, table cell, header, footer, footnote, or endnote may have its own formatting. A whole-document selection may not reach every separate object. Click into the relevant content, select its paragraphs, and set 2.0 directly if it remains unchanged.

Tips

Use the Paragraph dialog for precise settings. Select the paragraphs, then open the Home tab and click the small dialog launcher in the lower-right corner of the Paragraph group. In the Paragraph dialog, open Indents and Spacing, set Line spacing to Double, and click OK. This is useful when you want to verify the exact setting rather than infer it from how the page looks.
Keep line spacing separate from before-and-after spacing. In the same Paragraph dialog, inspect Spacing values for Before and After. A document can have double line spacing and still have extra space between paragraphs. If the page looks unusually spread out, those paragraph spacing values may be contributing; change them only if the assignment or document style calls for it.
Apply the format consistently with styles. If headings or body paragraphs need different spacing, format the appropriate styles rather than selecting every paragraph and making exceptions by hand. Right-click a style such as Normal in the Styles gallery, choose Modify, and use the formatting controls to set paragraph spacing. The exact dialog layout can vary between Word versions. Check the document after modifying a style because all text using that style may change.
Use a template or default only when you need it repeatedly. If new documents for a particular task must always be double-spaced, set up a template with the desired paragraph style and save it for reuse. Changing the default Normal style can affect future documents and may alter existing text that uses that style, so a dedicated template is often safer for a single class or project.
Check the final file format. A Word document usually retains Word paragraph formatting when shared as a .docx file. If you export to PDF, open the PDF and inspect page breaks and spacing before sending it. Different fonts, printer settings, or another application can change pagination even when the spacing setting itself is correct.

Troubleshooting

The spacing menu does not show 2.0. Confirm that you opened Line and Paragraph Spacing, not a neighboring paragraph-spacing control. If the ribbon is simplified, expand it or use the Paragraph dialog: Home > Paragraph dialog launcher > Indents and Spacing > Line spacing > Double. In some versions or window layouts, the launcher is a small arrow in the Paragraph group.

Only some text changed. Click in an unchanged paragraph and inspect the setting in the Paragraph dialog. If it is not set to Double, select that paragraph and apply the setting. For a table, click inside the affected cell and select the text there. For headers, footers, footnotes, or text boxes, open or click into that area and format its paragraphs separately. Also check whether the document contains multiple sections with their own formatting.

The text looks too widely spaced even though you chose 2.0. Check whether paragraph spacing is also set to add points before or after each paragraph. In the Paragraph dialog, review the Before and After values. Remove unnecessary extra paragraph spacing if appropriate, but keep any spacing required by the document’s style instructions. Font choice and page zoom can affect how the result looks on screen, so confirm the numerical line-spacing setting rather than judging by appearance alone.

Ctrl+2 or Command+2 does something else. Shortcuts can vary by Word version, keyboard layout, or the app receiving the keystroke. Click in the document, select the intended paragraphs, and use the ribbon menu to choose 2.0. If a shortcut appears to do nothing, make sure the document is editable and that the text is not in a protected area.

New paragraphs revert to single spacing. The next paragraph may be using a different style or may have formatting pasted from another source. Click in the paragraph that is wrong and choose 2.0 again. If the problem repeats, modify the relevant style or use a template so the spacing is built into the format. Pasted text can retain its source formatting; use Word’s paste options to match destination formatting, then confirm the spacing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I double-space an entire Word document?
Select the document body with Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. Review headings, tables, and separate text areas afterward because some may use independent formatting.

How do I double-space just one paragraph?
Click anywhere in the paragraph, or select several paragraphs, and choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. You do not have to highlight every word in a paragraph; placing the insertion point in it is enough to apply paragraph formatting.

Is 2.0 the same as double spacing?
Yes. In Word’s line-spacing menu, 2.0 represents double line spacing. The Paragraph dialog may display the setting as Double rather than as a number.

Why is there still a big gap between paragraphs?
Line spacing and paragraph spacing are separate settings. Double spacing controls the lines within each paragraph, while Before and After settings add space around paragraph boundaries. Check the Paragraph dialog and adjust those values only if the document should not have the extra gap.

Will double spacing change my page count?
Usually, yes. More vertical space means fewer lines fit on a page, so a document may grow to more pages. The exact change depends on margins, font size, headings, paragraph spacing, and page breaks. Check the page count after applying the format, particularly if the document has a length limit.

Can I double-space a document in Word for the web?
Yes. Select the text, open the spacing menu on the Home tab, and choose 2.0. If a formatting control is unavailable or the result is not consistent, open the file in the Word desktop app and use the Paragraph dialog for more detailed control.

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