Double Line Spacing in Word: A Step-by-Step Guide

To double-space text in Microsoft Word, select the paragraphs you want to change, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. You can also use Ctrl+2 on Windows or Command+2 on Mac. Double spacing adds more vertical room between lines of text; it does not automatically add extra space between paragraphs. You need Word for Windows or Mac and an open document. If you only want to change part of the document, select that text first.

What You’ll Need

A document open in Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac. The ribbon labels may vary slightly in older versions, but the paragraph line-spacing control is a standard Word feature.
For a partial change, know which paragraphs should be double-spaced. You can select text with the mouse or keyboard; selecting any part of a paragraph applies paragraph spacing to that whole paragraph.
If you are working in Word for the web, use the Home tab and its Line and Paragraph Spacing control. The layout can differ from the desktop app, but the 2.0 option has the same purpose.

Step-by-Step

Open the document and decide what to format. Double spacing can apply to a few paragraphs, a selected section, or the whole document. Click inside a paragraph to change just that paragraph. To apply it to several neighboring paragraphs, drag across their text or click at the start, hold Shift, and click at the end. For the entire document, use Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac. In a document with multiple sections, headers, footers, or text boxes, a main-document selection may not include every separate area, so inspect those independently if they need the same formatting.
Go to the Home tab. On the Word ribbon, select Home. Look for the Paragraph group, which includes alignment, bullets, indentation, and line-spacing controls. If the ribbon is collapsed or simplified, expand it or use the visible paragraph formatting menu. The line-spacing icon usually looks like horizontal lines with vertical arrows. It may be labeled Line and Paragraph Spacing when you point to it.
Choose 2.0 from the spacing menu. Select Line and Paragraph Spacing, then click 2.0 in the list. Word immediately applies double line spacing to the paragraph containing the insertion point, the selected paragraphs, or the whole selected document. Check a few lines to confirm the lines have visibly more vertical space. If you have selected only part of a paragraph, the change still affects the line spacing of that entire paragraph, because line spacing is a paragraph-level setting.
Use the paragraph dialog when you want a precise setting. Select the relevant paragraphs, then on Windows open Home and click the small diagonal-arrow launcher in the lower-right corner of the Paragraph group. In the Paragraph dialog, open Indents and Spacing. Under Spacing, set Line spacing to Double, then click OK. On Mac, use Format > Paragraph and choose Double in the Line spacing control, then confirm. This dialog is useful when the ribbon menu is hard to find or you also need to inspect paragraph spacing and indentation.
Apply double spacing quickly with a keyboard shortcut. Click inside the target paragraph or select several paragraphs, then press Ctrl+2 on Windows. On Mac, press Command+2. The shortcut sets double line spacing; it does not type a number or insert blank lines. To return the selected paragraphs to single spacing, use Ctrl+1 on Windows or Command+1 on Mac. For one-and-a-half spacing, use Ctrl+5 or Command+5, respectively.
Check paragraph spacing separately. If there are unusually large gaps between paragraphs, open the Line and Paragraph Spacing menu and check whether Word has added space before or after paragraphs. Those options are separate from double line spacing. For more control, open the Paragraph dialog and inspect the Before and After values under Spacing. Set them to 0 pt only if the document requirements call for no extra paragraph gap; a style or assignment may intentionally require space after paragraphs.
Review the entire formatted area. Scroll through the page and verify that body text is evenly spaced and that headings, lists, quotations, and table text follow the intended rules. If only part of the document changed, select the missed paragraphs and repeat the setting. Save the document with Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. If the file must be submitted or printed, check Print Layout or print preview so you can see page breaks and the effect of the increased spacing.

Common Mistakes

Pressing Enter between every line. Adding empty paragraphs may look like double spacing, but it creates blank lines rather than changing line spacing. It can make the document uneven, interfere with editing, and produce unexpected gaps after text is added. Remove the extra paragraph marks and use the 2.0 line-spacing setting instead. If formatting marks are visible, the paragraph mark symbol appears at the end of each paragraph; it is not a sign that spacing is wrong.

Changing only the current paragraph by accident. Clicking in a paragraph and choosing 2.0 affects that paragraph, not necessarily the rest of the document. Select all intended paragraphs first, or apply the setting in separate sections as needed. Conversely, Ctrl+A can format more than you mean to change. Make sure the selection is appropriate before choosing a spacing option.

Confusing line spacing with paragraph spacing. Double line spacing controls the distance between lines within a paragraph. Space Before and Space After control the gap around paragraphs. A document can have both double-spaced lines and extra paragraph gaps, which may look too loose. Adjust the separate settings only when you know what the document calls for.

Assuming the shortcut inserts double spacing everywhere. Ctrl+2 or Command+2 changes the paragraph where the cursor is, or the selected paragraphs. It does not necessarily set the default for all future documents. Check the document after using the shortcut, particularly if formatting was selected in only one part of a page.

Tips

For a school or work document with explicit formatting instructions, apply those instructions over a general preference. Some requirements ask for double-spaced body text but single-spaced footnotes, captions, or block quotations. Select and format each type of content separately instead of applying one setting indiscriminately. If the document uses headings and lists, review them afterward; their paragraph styles may have their own spacing rules.

Use the paragraph dialog when you need to distinguish 2.0 line spacing from an approximate visual match. The preset is more reliable than adding blank lines or changing font size. Keep the font and margins at the required settings, then use line spacing to control the distance between lines. Changing the font size to make text appear more open can alter page count and readability without actually setting double spacing.

When a document contains repeated sections, formatting with styles can make consistent spacing easier to maintain. For example, body paragraphs may use a body-text style while headings use a heading style. If a style overrides direct formatting, changing the style may be more reliable than fixing each paragraph individually. For a short document, selecting the body text and choosing 2.0 is usually the simplest approach.

Remember that double spacing increases the document’s length on the page. Page breaks may move, and a paragraph that previously fit at the bottom of a page may continue on the next one. Review page breaks after formatting rather than deleting text or shrinking the font just to restore the old page count. Save a copy first if you want to keep both the original layout and the double-spaced version.

Troubleshooting

The lines still look single-spaced. Click inside a paragraph that should be double-spaced and reopen the spacing menu. Confirm that 2.0 is selected, rather than 1.0 or 1.15. If the paragraph uses a style, select it and reapply Double in the Paragraph dialog. Also verify that you are looking at separate lines in the same paragraph; a large gap between two paragraphs can be caused by paragraph spacing and does not prove that line spacing is set to 2.0.

Only some paragraphs changed. The selection may have missed text, or the cursor may have been placed in only one paragraph. Select the remaining paragraphs and apply 2.0 again. If the text is inside a table, text box, header, or footer, click inside that area and format it separately. Some document sections may have different formatting, so check each one rather than assuming a whole-document selection covered every object.

There is too much space between paragraphs. Open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing and check for Add Space Before Paragraph or Add Space After Paragraph, or inspect Before and After in the Paragraph dialog. If you do not want the extra gap, remove the relevant paragraph spacing while keeping Line spacing set to Double. Avoid choosing Remove Space After Paragraph unless you intend to change that setting for the selected paragraphs.

The spacing changes back after editing or pasting. Pasted text can bring formatting from its source, and a style can reapply its own paragraph settings. Select the affected paragraphs and set Double again. When pasting, use Word’s paste options to keep text only or match destination formatting if appropriate. If the issue repeats, check which style is applied to the text and adjust that style or use the document’s intended formatting consistently.

The menu or shortcut seems unavailable. Make sure the document is editable rather than in a view-only state, and click in the document body before using a paragraph command. If the ribbon is simplified, expand it or use Format > Paragraph on Mac. In Word for the web, use the Home tab’s spacing menu; if a control is missing in the browser interface, open the document in the desktop app and apply the setting there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does double spacing mean 2.0 in Word?

Yes. Choose 2.0 or set Line spacing to Double in the Paragraph dialog. This controls the space between lines within paragraphs. It is not the same as adding a blank line after every line of text.

Can I double-space just one paragraph?

Yes. Click anywhere in that paragraph and choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0, or use Ctrl+2 on Windows and Command+2 on Mac. Because the setting applies to a paragraph, you do not need to select every word in it.

How do I double-space an entire Word document?

Click in the document and press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac, then choose 2.0 from the Home tab’s Line and Paragraph Spacing menu. Review separate text boxes, headers, footers, or other areas because they may need to be formatted on their own.

Will double spacing change the font size or margins?

No. It changes the vertical spacing between lines, not the font size, page margins, or horizontal spacing. The document may use more pages because the lines take up more vertical room.

How do I double-space in Word for Mac?

Select the paragraphs, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0, or open Format > Paragraph and choose Double for Line spacing. Command+2 is the keyboard shortcut for double spacing in Word for Mac.

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