How to Double Space in Word: Quick Step-by-Step Guide

To double-space text in Microsoft Word, select the text, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. To double-space an entire document, press Ctrl+A first on Windows or Command+A on Mac, then apply 2.0 spacing. This changes the distance between lines, making a document easier to read, annotate, or prepare for a submission. You do not need to add blank lines manually.

The instructions below are for Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows. The equivalent Mac controls are noted where they differ. Double spacing affects the selected paragraphs; it does not automatically remove extra space between paragraphs, which is a separate setting.

What You’ll Need

Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows or Mac, or Word for the web.
An open document. If you are formatting only part of it, know which paragraphs you want to change.
Optional: the document’s formatting requirements, especially whether they specify double line spacing and paragraph spacing separately.

Step-by-Step

Open the document and decide what to format. If the whole document needs double spacing, click in the document body and select everything with Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac. In a document with a table, header, footer, or text box, the first press may select only the text in that area. Click in the main body and use the shortcut again if you need the full document. To format just a section, drag across its paragraphs or click at the start, then hold Shift and click at the end.
Open the Home tab. On Windows, select Home in the ribbon. Find the Paragraph group and its Line and Paragraph Spacing button, which usually looks like horizontal lines with up-and-down arrows. On Mac, use Home and look in the Paragraph group for the same spacing control. If the ribbon is simplified or the Word window is narrow, expand the ribbon or look for the spacing button in the Paragraph controls.
Choose 2.0 spacing. Open Line and Paragraph Spacing, then select 2.0. Word applies double line spacing to the selected paragraphs immediately. If no text was selected, Word changes the paragraph containing the insertion point; it may not change the rest of the document. Select the content first when you intend to format more than one paragraph.
Check that the whole selection changed. Click elsewhere in the document and inspect several paragraphs, including any headings, lists, or text near the end. Look for noticeably more vertical space between lines within each paragraph. The spacing menu may show the active setting when you click into a formatted paragraph. If some text still looks single-spaced, select that portion and repeat the 2.0 command.
Use the keyboard shortcut if you prefer. Select the text, then press Ctrl+2 on Windows or Command+2 on Mac to apply double line spacing. This is a quick alternative to the ribbon menu. The selection matters: without a selection, Word generally changes the paragraph where the cursor is, not every paragraph in the file. If the shortcut has a different effect in your setup, use the ribbon command instead.
Adjust paragraph gaps only if required. Double line spacing increases the space between lines, but Word can also add extra space before or after each paragraph. To review those settings on Windows, select the paragraphs and open the Paragraph dialog using the small diagonal arrow in the Paragraph group on the Home tab. In the Spacing area, check Before and After. Set them to 0 pt if your instructions call for no additional paragraph gap; do not change them just to make double spacing work. On Mac, open Format > Paragraph to review paragraph spacing.
Save the document and preserve the formatting. Press Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. If you need to send the document and want the layout to remain consistent, save a copy as a PDF using File > Save As or File > Export, depending on your Word version. Keep the editable Word file too if you may need to make changes later.

For future documents: If you want new documents to start with double-spaced paragraphs, open the Paragraph dialog, set Line spacing to Double, and choose Set As Default. In Word for Windows, you can generally select to apply the change to documents based on the Normal template. On Mac, open Format > Paragraph and use the default-setting option if it is available in your version. This changes a default, not just the current document, so use it only if you want the setting to carry forward.

Common Mistakes

Pressing Enter between every line. Adding empty paragraphs creates blank lines rather than true double spacing. It makes editing awkward: deleting or inserting text can leave uneven gaps, and the document may not meet a formatting requirement. Use the 2.0 line-spacing setting instead.

Changing paragraph spacing instead of line spacing. Increasing the After value in the Paragraph dialog creates a gap after each paragraph. It does not necessarily double the distance between the lines within a paragraph. Use Line spacing: Double or the 2.0 menu option for the lines themselves.

Formatting only the current paragraph by accident. If you click in one paragraph and choose 2.0 without selecting the rest, only that paragraph may change. Select the full document or the intended section before applying the setting, then verify the result.

Assuming the setting applies to every document forever. Applying 2.0 changes the selected text in the open file. New files use their own default styles unless you deliberately change the default template or a style. Avoid changing defaults when you only need one assignment or report double-spaced.

Forgetting lists, footnotes, or text boxes. Content in a separate text area may not be included when you select the main body. Check special sections against the requirements, and format them separately if needed. Do not assume that a visual selection covered every object on the page.

Tips

Use the status of the selection to keep the change targeted. Select only the paragraphs that need the change when a document mixes single-spaced tables, captions, or references with double-spaced body text. Applying 2.0 to the whole document is convenient, but it can make compact sections unnecessarily tall.

Consider styles for consistent documents. If you are starting a long report, change the relevant paragraph style rather than correcting each heading or body paragraph separately. In Word for Windows, right-click a style in the Styles gallery on the Home tab, choose Modify, then use Format > Paragraph to set line spacing. This keeps paragraphs using that style consistent. Check the document’s requirements before changing a built-in style.

Distinguish line spacing from visual page density. Font size, margins, paragraph gaps, and line spacing all affect how many pages a document uses. Double spacing does not mean the page will have exactly twice as many lines or pages. If a page count matters, set the required font and margins too rather than reducing or adding spacing to force a target.

Use Print Layout for a useful review. Switch to View > Print Layout to inspect page breaks and the appearance of the finished pages. A document can look different in a condensed draft view or on another screen. If you share a file, the recipient’s fonts and Word version can also affect pagination, even when the line-spacing setting remains double.

Leave extra paragraph spacing alone unless the instructions say otherwise. Many templates intentionally put a small gap after paragraphs. A teacher or publisher may require double-spaced lines but also specify no extra paragraph gap. Follow the detailed specification rather than guessing from the page appearance.

Troubleshooting

Only one paragraph became double-spaced: Undo if needed, select the full body text, and apply 2.0 again. For the whole document, click in the main text and use Ctrl+A or Command+A. If text inside a header, footer, table, or text box remains unchanged, select and format that area separately.

The lines still look too close together: Click in the affected paragraph and reopen the spacing menu to check that 2.0 is selected. Direct formatting or a paragraph style may be overriding what you expected. Select the problem paragraph and apply 2.0 directly. If you are editing a style, inspect its Paragraph settings as well. Also confirm that you are comparing lines within the same paragraph rather than separate paragraphs with different gap settings.

There is too much space between paragraphs: The line-spacing setting may be correct while the paragraph’s After spacing is also adding room. Select the affected paragraphs, open the Paragraph dialog, and check Before and After. Set extra values to 0 pt only when the required format calls for no additional paragraph spacing. You can also use Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing and choose Remove Space After Paragraph where that command is offered.

The 2.0 option or ribbon button is hard to find: Maximize the Word window, expand the ribbon, and look in Home > Paragraph. In Word for the web, select the text and use Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing if the control is available in the current ribbon layout. If you cannot find it, open the desktop app for the fuller Paragraph dialog. Ribbon layouts can vary slightly across versions and screen sizes.

The page count changed unexpectedly: More space between lines usually increases the number of pages. Check that the selection did not include text that should stay single-spaced, and confirm that paragraph gaps were not also increased. Do not compensate by shrinking the font or margins if a required format specifies them; correct the spacing settings instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I double-space an entire Word 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. Review tables and text boxes separately if they did not change.

What is the shortcut for double spacing in Word?
On Windows, select the text and press Ctrl+2. On Mac, select it and press Command+2. The shortcut applies to the current selection, so select the whole document first if that is your goal.

Does double spacing add a blank line after every paragraph?
No. Double spacing increases the distance between lines in a paragraph. Space after a paragraph is a separate setting in the Paragraph controls, so the two can be adjusted independently.

Can I double-space just one paragraph or a section?
Yes. Select the paragraph or range of paragraphs, then choose 2.0 from the spacing menu or use the keyboard shortcut. Text outside the selection keeps its existing formatting.

How do I make new Word documents double-spaced by default?
Set line spacing to Double in the Paragraph dialog and choose Set As Default, applying it to documents based on the Normal template if offered. The precise option can vary by Word version; use this only if you want future documents to inherit the change.

Why does my double-spaced document have more blank space than expected?
It may have paragraph spacing in addition to double line spacing. Check the Before and After values in the Paragraph dialog and remove extra spacing only if your formatting requirements call for it.

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