How to Double Space in Word Online

To double-space text in Word Online, select the text—or click in a paragraph—then go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing and choose 2.0. To format the whole document, click in its main text, select all, and choose 2.0. This sets the distance between lines; it does not insert blank lines between paragraphs.

What You’ll Need

A Microsoft account with access to Word Online and the document you want to edit.
A web browser and an internet connection. A computer is easiest for selecting and formatting a long document, though the commands may also be available in a mobile browser or the Word app.
Edit permission for the file. If it is read-only, ask the owner for permission or make an editable copy if that option is available.

You do not need to install the desktop version of Word for the basic line-spacing change. Word Online saves changes to a file stored in OneDrive or SharePoint as you work, but wait for the save status to finish before closing the tab.

Step-by-Step

Open the document in Word Online. Sign in to Microsoft 365 in your browser, open Word, and select the file. If the document opens in reading view, choose the option to edit it in the browser. Confirm that you can place the cursor in the document and make a small edit; a view-only file cannot be reformatted until you have edit access.
Decide what should be double-spaced. You can apply 2.0 spacing to the entire document, a selection such as the body text, or only one paragraph. If you need to preserve single-spaced headings, captions, or footnotes, do not select the entire document indiscriminately. Select just the text that should change, and handle exceptions separately.
Select the text, if needed. To format the whole document, click in the main document text and press Ctrl+A on Windows. On a Mac, press Command+A. To format a section, drag across its paragraphs or click at the beginning, hold Shift, and click at the end. To format one paragraph, simply click anywhere inside it; paragraph spacing applies to the paragraph, even if no words are highlighted.
Open the Home tab. On the ribbon at the top of Word Online, select Home. If the ribbon is collapsed, click Home or expand the ribbon so the paragraph-formatting controls are visible. On a narrow screen, you may need to widen the browser window or open the ribbon’s overflow menu to find the spacing command.
Open the line-spacing menu. In the Paragraph area of the Home ribbon, select Line and Paragraph Spacing. The control is usually shown as horizontal lines with up-and-down arrows. If you are unsure which icon it is, hover over the controls to see their tooltips. Do not choose the separate paragraph-mark or indent controls by mistake.
Choose 2.0. In the menu, select 2.0. Word applies double line spacing to the selected paragraphs, or to the paragraph containing the insertion point if you did not select a range. The text may take up more pages, so page breaks and page numbers can move. That change in layout is expected.
Check the result. Look at several lines in the formatted area. There should be noticeably more vertical space between lines within each paragraph. If you changed only a selection, check the paragraph just before and after it to make sure the correct range changed. If headings or other elements should remain single-spaced, inspect those too.
Confirm the change is saved. Word Online normally saves automatically to the cloud. Look for a saved or up-to-date status near the file name, and give it a moment to finish syncing. If you see a saving message or a connection warning, keep the tab open until the document is saved.

For a document where the body should be double-spaced but headings should not, a practical approach is to select the body paragraphs in sections and apply 2.0 to those selections. If the document is short, you can select everything, set 2.0, and then select each heading and restore its spacing. Review the result rather than assuming every paragraph type should use the same layout.

Common Mistakes

Confusing line spacing with paragraph spacing. Double spacing means a 2.0 line-spacing setting within paragraphs. It does not mean adding an empty paragraph after every line or paragraph. Blank paragraphs can create uneven gaps and make later editing harder.
Changing only the words, not the paragraph. Line spacing is a paragraph format. Clicking inside a paragraph and choosing 2.0 normally changes the whole paragraph, while highlighting a group of paragraphs changes that selection. If only a few paragraphs changed, check whether the rest were outside the selection.
Selecting the wrong range. Ctrl+A or Command+A is convenient, but it can include headings and other text that you meant to leave alone. Before applying 2.0, verify that the selected area is the one you intend to format.
Adding extra returns to imitate double spacing. Pressing Enter repeatedly creates separate paragraphs, not double-spaced lines. Those extra paragraph marks can lead to large gaps, awkward page breaks, and inconsistent formatting when text is edited.
Expecting the page count to stay the same. Double spacing uses more vertical space, so content can flow onto additional pages. This is normal and does not mean text has been deleted or duplicated.

Tips

Use the insertion point for a quick paragraph change. If only one paragraph needs double spacing, click inside it and choose 2.0 rather than selecting every word. This is often the simplest way to correct an isolated paragraph.
Format a whole body section deliberately. For a long document with mixed formatting, work through the body in manageable ranges. This reduces the chance of changing a title, table, or footnote that should keep a different layout.
Keep line spacing and space-after settings separate. A paragraph can have double-spaced lines and also have extra space after it. If the gap between paragraphs looks larger than expected, open the spacing menu and check for paragraph-spacing options such as adding or removing space after a paragraph.
Check tables and text boxes separately. Text inside a table or text box may need its own selection and formatting adjustment. If selecting the body did not change text in one of these areas, click inside that area and apply 2.0 there.
Use the browser version consistently. Word Online has a similar ribbon on Windows and Mac because both use the web interface. The selection shortcut differs: use Ctrl+A on Windows and Command+A on a Mac. The desktop Word ribbon may have additional options, so follow the web ribbon labels when working online.
Review a print or page view. Once the spacing is set, scan page breaks, tables, and headings. Double spacing can move a heading to the bottom of a page or make a table span pages. Adjust the layout only if the new page flow causes a real readability problem.

Troubleshooting

The spacing menu is missing. Make sure the Home tab is selected and the ribbon is expanded. On a narrow browser window, some controls may be hidden in an overflow menu. Try enlarging the window or using a desktop browser. If the page is in reading mode, switch to editing.
Nothing changes after you choose 2.0. Click inside the paragraph and check again; the change may apply only to the current paragraph or selected range. Confirm that the file is editable and that you are not looking at an older preview. If text is selected, click elsewhere only after checking the result, because doing so clears the selection.
Only some paragraphs changed. The selection probably did not cover the whole intended area, or some text is in a table, text box, header, or footer. Select the remaining paragraphs and apply 2.0. Headers and footers may need to be opened and formatted separately from the document body.
The gap between paragraphs is still large. Line spacing and spacing before or after paragraphs are different settings. Open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing and look for an option to remove space after a paragraph or adjust paragraph spacing. Apply the change only to the paragraphs with unwanted gaps, since removing paragraph space everywhere can make the document harder to scan.
The document switches back or does not save. Wait for Word Online’s save status and check your internet connection. If the file is stored in a shared location, make sure another editor has not changed the same content at the same time. Avoid closing or refreshing the tab while it shows that changes are still being saved. If access is restricted, contact the document owner.
The page count or layout looks wrong. First confirm that 2.0 is the intended setting and that extra blank paragraphs were not inserted. Then inspect page breaks and paragraph spacing. If the document must follow a particular school, workplace, or publisher format, check its instructions before making additional layout changes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does 2.0 mean double spacing in Word Online?
Yes. The 2.0 option is the standard double line-spacing setting. It increases the vertical distance between lines in the selected paragraphs; it does not add blank lines between them.

How do I double-space the entire document?
Click in the main text, press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. Check headings, tables, and other elements afterward, because you may want some of them to keep different spacing.

Can I double-space just one paragraph?
Yes. Click anywhere in that paragraph, open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and select 2.0. You do not have to highlight every word in the paragraph.

Will double spacing change the font or margins?
No. The 2.0 setting changes line spacing, not the font, font size, or page margins. It can increase the number of pages because each paragraph takes up more vertical room.

Can I use double spacing on Word Online on a Mac?
Yes. The Home ribbon and spacing menu work in the browser on a Mac as well as on Windows. Use Command+A instead of Ctrl+A when selecting all document content on a Mac.

How do I go back to single spacing?
Select the affected paragraphs, open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and choose 1.0. If the paragraphs still look far apart, also check for added space before or after paragraphs.

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