Double Space in Word: Change Line Spacing

To double-space text in Word, select the text, open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and choose 2.0. To apply it to a whole document, press Ctrl+A first on Windows, then choose 2.0. Double spacing adds vertical room between lines; it does not enlarge the font or spread letters across the line. The steps below are for Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows, with Mac and web differences noted where relevant.

What You’ll Need

A document open in Microsoft Word. Save a copy first if you are making a major formatting change to an important document.
A keyboard and mouse or trackpad. You can use the ribbon or a keyboard shortcut.
Text selected if you want to change only part of the document. If you want the entire main document changed, you can select all of its text.

Step-by-Step

Open the document and decide what to change. Double spacing can apply to a sentence, a paragraph, a selected group of paragraphs, or the whole document. Click within the text if you are changing one paragraph. For a larger section, drag across the text or click at the start, hold Shift, and click at the end. Check that the selection includes every paragraph you intend to format; text that is not selected will keep its existing spacing.
Select the whole document if needed. On Windows, press Ctrl+A while the cursor is in the document body. On Mac, press Command+A. This generally selects the document’s main text, not text in separate headers, footers, footnotes, or text boxes. Those areas may need to be selected and formatted separately. If you only want the body text double-spaced, avoid selecting anything outside the body.
Open the line-spacing menu. Select the Home tab on the ribbon. In the Paragraph group, choose Line and Paragraph Spacing. The button typically shows horizontal lines with an up-and-down arrow. If the ribbon is collapsed or the window is narrow, expand the ribbon or look in the Paragraph group for the same button.
Choose 2.0. In the menu, click 2.0. Word applies double line spacing to the selected paragraphs immediately. You do not need to highlight the text again or change the font size. Click in the document to clear the selection and inspect the result. The spacing should be visibly larger between lines within paragraphs, while the letters themselves remain the same size.
Use the Paragraph dialog for more control. If you want to confirm the setting or also adjust paragraph spacing, select the text and open Home > Paragraph dialog box launcher, the small arrow at the lower-right of the Paragraph group. In the Indents and Spacing tab, find Line spacing, choose Double, and select OK. This route is useful if you need to see the line-spacing setting alongside the paragraph’s Before and After spacing values.
Check whether extra paragraph gaps are also present. Double line spacing controls the distance between lines within a paragraph. Word can separately add space before or after each paragraph, so a document may look more widely spaced than expected. In the Paragraph dialog, review Before and After under Spacing. If the assignment or template calls for double-spaced lines with no additional paragraph gap, set those values to the required amounts, often 0 pt, and select OK. Follow the document’s instructions if it specifies a different gap.
On Mac or Word for the web, use the matching control. In Word for Mac, select the text, open Home, and choose Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. You can also open the Paragraph settings from the Format menu to inspect line spacing and paragraph spacing. In Word for the web, select the text and use Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. Ribbon labels or layout can vary slightly by release, but choose the 2.0 line-spacing option rather than a font or character-spacing control.

A quick Windows shortcut is Ctrl+2 for double spacing. On Mac, use Command+2. Select the relevant text first if you want to change only a section. These shortcuts change paragraph line spacing, not the font’s character spacing. If the shortcut does not work, use the ribbon menu so you can confirm the chosen setting.

Common Mistakes

Changing font size instead of line spacing. Increasing the font size makes the letters larger and can make a page longer, but it does not set the line-spacing rule to Double. Keep the font size as required and choose 2.0 from the line-spacing menu.
Changing character spacing. Word also offers controls that spread letters horizontally. Those settings are sometimes described as font spacing, but they are not double line spacing. For vertical double spacing, use the Paragraph group. If you really mean extra space between letters, select text, open the Font dialog box, choose Advanced, and adjust Spacing; there is no universal character-spacing value called double.
Formatting only the current paragraph by accident. If no text is selected, Word normally applies the change to the paragraph containing the insertion point. Select the full section or use Ctrl+A or Command+A when you mean to change the full body.
Confusing line spacing with space after paragraphs. A paragraph can have double-spaced lines and still have additional space after it. Conversely, setting space after a paragraph does not make the lines within it double-spaced. These are separate controls in Word.
Expecting headers, footnotes, or text boxes to change automatically. A selection of the main document may not include text stored in these separate areas. Check them individually if consistent spacing is required throughout the file.

Tips

Use the shortcut for a quick change. Ctrl+2 on Windows or Command+2 on Mac applies double spacing to the current selection. Ctrl+1 or Command+1 sets single spacing, and Ctrl+5 or Command+5 sets 1.5 spacing. If you use shortcuts often, confirm the result in the ribbon because other apps or keyboard configurations may affect shortcuts.
Turn on formatting marks when the layout looks confusing. Choose Home > Show/Hide ¶ to display paragraph marks and other nonprinting characters. This helps you see where one paragraph ends and another begins, which can explain why paragraph-after spacing appears between blocks of text.
Check a representative page before changing everything. Try the setting on one paragraph or a copy of the document first. Look at headings, lists, tables, and citations as well as ordinary paragraphs; they may use different styles or have special spacing requirements.
Use styles for repeated formatting. If a document has many paragraphs using the same style, changing the style’s paragraph settings can keep those paragraphs consistent. Right-click the style in the Styles gallery, choose Modify, and use the paragraph-formatting options. Be cautious: changing a style can affect every paragraph based on it.
Keep the original instructions in mind. A school, publisher, or workplace template may specify double spacing but also require particular margins, font, or paragraph gaps. Double spacing alone does not guarantee that the whole document meets those requirements.

Troubleshooting

The text still looks single-spaced. Select the paragraph and check Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing again. If the menu does not show a clear check mark, open the Paragraph dialog and set Line spacing to Double directly. Confirm that you selected the text you meant to change, and make sure you are viewing the document at a useful zoom level.

Only some paragraphs changed. This usually means the selection did not cover all the text, or a section is stored in a header, footer, table, or text box. Select the missing paragraphs and apply 2.0 again. If you used Ctrl+A or Command+A, remember that it may not include separate document areas. For table text, click in the table and select its relevant cells or paragraphs before changing the spacing.

There are huge gaps between paragraphs. Check the Paragraph dialog’s Before and After values. A style may add paragraph spacing in addition to double line spacing. Set the extra spacing to the required value, rather than changing line spacing back to single. If only certain paragraphs have large gaps, inspect their styles and formatting separately.

The spacing changes again as you type. New paragraphs usually inherit the formatting of the paragraph you are typing in, but pasted text or a different style can introduce other spacing. Select the affected text and apply 2.0. If the problem repeats, check whether the paragraph is using a different style or whether pasted content brought in formatting. You can use Home > Clear All Formatting on selected text, then reapply the desired font and paragraph formatting; this also removes other formatting, so use it selectively.

The shortcut does nothing or changes something unexpected. Click in the document body, select the text, and try the ribbon command instead. On Windows, use Ctrl+2; on Mac, use Command+2. If you are using Word in a browser, a keyboard shortcut may be handled differently by the browser or operating system, so choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does double spacing mean setting the font to 2.0?
No. Choose 2.0 in the line-spacing menu. It changes vertical space between lines in paragraphs, not the font size or distance between letters.

How do I double-space the whole document?
Click in the document body, press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. Check headers, footers, footnotes, and text boxes separately if they must match.

Can I double-space just one paragraph?
Yes. Click inside the paragraph and choose 2.0. Word applies paragraph formatting to the paragraph at the cursor. For several paragraphs, select all of them before using the command.

Is 2.0 exactly the same as Double in the Paragraph dialog?
Both are Word’s double-line-spacing setting. Use either the 2.0 menu option or Line spacing: Double in the Paragraph dialog. Paragraph spacing before or after is a separate setting and can affect the overall appearance.

Will double spacing change my page count?
It often increases the page count because lines take up more vertical space. The exact change depends on the amount of text, font, margins, headings, and paragraph spacing. Review page breaks after applying it, especially if the document has page limits.

Can I set double spacing as the default for every new document?
You can change paragraph or style defaults, but the exact route depends on the Word version and template. For a single document, use the Paragraph dialog or modify the Normal style, then save the document or template as appropriate. Avoid changing a shared template unless you intend the setting to affect documents based on it.

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