How to Double Space in Word (Microsoft 365)

To double-space text in Word for Microsoft 365, select the text—or press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac to select the document—then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. You can also click in a paragraph and use Ctrl+2 on Windows or Command+2 on Mac. Double spacing adds more vertical room between lines, which can make a document easier to read, mark up, or prepare for a submission.

What You’ll Need

A document open in Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365. The steps below are for the desktop app; the Word ribbon in a browser has a similar spacing control.
Text to format, if you want to change an existing document. To set spacing before you start writing, open a blank document and apply the setting first.
Optional: a keyboard, if you prefer the Windows or Mac shortcut. The ribbon method works without one.

Step-by-Step

Open the document and decide what to format. If only a passage, a few paragraphs, or a particular section needs double spacing, you can select just that material. If the whole document should use double spacing, select all of its main text. Making this choice first prevents you from changing headings, captions, or other parts that should retain their own spacing.
Select the text you want to change. Drag across a passage with the mouse, or click at its beginning, hold Shift, and click at the end. To select the whole document on Windows, click in the document body and press Ctrl+A. On a Mac, click in the body and press Command+A. If the document has separate areas such as headers, footers, or text boxes, those may need to be selected and formatted separately; selecting the main document text does not necessarily include them.
Open the line-spacing menu. Go to the Home tab on the ribbon. In the Paragraph group, select Line and Paragraph Spacing. Its icon usually shows horizontal lines with vertical arrows. If the ribbon is collapsed or the Word window is narrow, expand the ribbon or look for the spacing button in the Paragraph group. In Word for the web, use the Home tab and the corresponding Line and Paragraph Spacing control.
Choose 2.0. In the menu, click 2.0. Word applies double line spacing to the selected text. If you did not select text, the setting applies to the paragraph containing the insertion point, and it can also affect text you type next in that paragraph. Check the result on the page rather than assuming that the menu choice changed every part of the document.
Use the keyboard shortcut if that is quicker. Select the text first, then press Ctrl+2 on Windows or Command+2 on Mac. The shortcut applies double line spacing to the selection; with no selection, it changes the paragraph at the cursor. In Word, Ctrl+1 or Command+1 applies single spacing, while Ctrl+5 or Command+5 applies 1.5 spacing. These are Word shortcuts, not a general Windows or Mac setting.
Check the paragraph gaps as well as the lines. Double line spacing controls the distance between lines in a paragraph. It does not necessarily remove extra space Word adds before or after paragraphs. If you see unusually large gaps between paragraphs, select the affected text, open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and choose Remove Space After Paragraph if that option appears. You can also open the Paragraph dialog for more precise control.
Set double spacing for future documents, if needed. In Word for Windows, open the Home tab and select the Paragraph dialog launcher—the small arrow in the lower-right corner of the Paragraph group. On the Indents and Spacing tab, set Line spacing to Double, then select Set As Default. Choose the option to apply the change to all documents based on the Normal template and confirm. This changes the default for new documents using that template; it does not replace checking an existing document. The dialog and default-setting options can vary by Word for Mac version, so use the Mac Paragraph dialog if available and check its default button or options before confirming.
Save and verify the document. Press Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on Mac. If the document must meet a particular style or submission requirement, check a few pages, including headings and the final page. Confirm that the intended text is double-spaced and that paragraph breaks, lists, and page breaks still look right.

Common Mistakes

Formatting only the paragraph at the cursor: Choosing 2.0 without selecting a larger passage changes only the current paragraph, which can make it seem as if Word ignored the command. Select the required text first, or use Ctrl+A or Command+A to target the main document text.

Confusing line spacing with paragraph spacing: Double spacing separates each line within a paragraph. Space Before and Space After add extra room around whole paragraphs. A document can therefore have double-spaced lines and still have large gaps between paragraphs. If that is not the intended look, adjust paragraph spacing separately instead of choosing single line spacing.

Adding blank lines by pressing Enter repeatedly: Extra paragraph returns are not the same as double spacing. They create empty paragraphs, which can lead to uneven gaps and shift page breaks when the text changes. Use the 2.0 line-spacing setting for evenly spaced lines, and reserve Enter for starting a new paragraph.

Expecting every object to change with Ctrl+A: The selection usually targets the document text, not every item in a floating text box, header, footer, footnote, or table. Check those areas individually if the formatting requirement covers them. A table cell may need its contents selected before applying the spacing command.

Applying a style after changing the spacing: A heading or other styled paragraph can have its own paragraph settings. Applying or updating a style may restore its configured spacing. If one part remains different, select that paragraph and inspect its Paragraph settings or modify the relevant style rather than repeatedly formatting unrelated text.

Tips

Format before typing when possible. For a new document that must be double-spaced throughout, set the spacing before entering the text. New paragraphs generally inherit paragraph formatting from the paragraph you are in, but pasted text or a different style can bring its own formatting. Applying the setting early reduces cleanup later.

Use the Paragraph dialog for exact control. The ribbon’s 2.0 option is the fastest way to apply double line spacing. To inspect other spacing values, select the text and open Home > Paragraph dialog launcher > Indents and Spacing. The Line spacing menu includes choices such as Single, 1.5 lines, Double, and Multiple. Use Double when the requirement specifically calls for double spacing; do not approximate it by entering a larger font size or inserting blank lines.

Preserve intentional differences. Some documents use double spacing for body paragraphs but single spacing for footnotes, tables, or headings. If a requirement specifies only the body text, select and format those paragraphs rather than applying Ctrl+A without checking. You can format different sections separately and keep their styles intact.

Check pasted material. Text copied from a website or another document may retain its source paragraph spacing or style. If a passage still looks different, select just that passage and choose 2.0 again. Then look for extra paragraph spacing or blank paragraphs. Avoid using Clear All Formatting unless you are prepared to remove other choices such as font, emphasis, and color.

Review print layout and page count. Double spacing uses more vertical space, so a document will often run to more pages. Use Print Layout or print preview to inspect page breaks, headings stranded at the bottom of a page, and any blank pages. A longer page count is normally expected and does not mean the command failed.

Troubleshooting

The text still looks single-spaced. Confirm that the intended text was selected and that 2.0—not 1.0—was chosen. Click inside a paragraph and open the Paragraph dialog to inspect Line spacing. If it says Single, select the affected paragraphs and change it to Double. Also consider the font and zoom level: at a small zoom, the difference can be difficult to judge, so check at a readable zoom or in print preview.

There are very large gaps between paragraphs. This usually means paragraph spacing or empty paragraphs are adding to the double line spacing. Turn on formatting marks with the Show/Hide button on the Home tab to see paragraph marks and other hidden characters. Remove unwanted empty paragraphs, then select the text and use the spacing menu’s Remove Space After Paragraph option when available. For exact values, open the Paragraph dialog and review Spacing Before and After.

Only some of the document changed. Look for unselected content, separate sections, or text with a different style. Select the missed paragraphs and apply 2.0 to them. Check headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, and text boxes separately if they are part of the requirement. If a style keeps reintroducing different spacing, adjust that style’s paragraph settings or apply the required spacing after the style is in place.

The shortcut does something else or does not work. Click in the document body and try the ribbon path, Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. Check that you are using the correct platform shortcut: Ctrl+2 on Windows and Command+2 on Mac. If a browser, keyboard layout, or another application intercepts the shortcut, the ribbon method is the reliable alternative. In Word for the web, use the on-screen menu if the shortcut is unavailable.

The setting changes back later. A different style, pasted formatting, or a template may be overriding the paragraph setting. Select the affected text and inspect the Paragraph dialog. If new documents also revert, verify that you changed the default for documents based on the Normal template, rather than only formatting one open file. If you are using a managed work or school template, its styles may be controlled by your organization.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does double spacing mean leaving a blank line between every line?
No. Double spacing increases the distance between text lines while keeping them in the same paragraph. Pressing Enter creates a new paragraph, and pressing it twice creates an empty paragraph that may produce uneven extra space.

How do I double-space only one paragraph?
Click inside that paragraph, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0, or use Ctrl+2 on Windows or Command+2 on Mac. You do not need to select the whole paragraph when the cursor is inside it, but selecting it can make the target clearer.

Can I double-space the entire document at once?
Yes. Click in the document body, press Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac, and select Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 2.0. Review special areas such as text boxes or headers separately, because they may not be included in the main selection.

Why does double spacing make my document longer?
There is more vertical space between each line, so the same amount of text takes up more pages. Extra Space Before or After paragraphs can increase the page count further. That is normal unless the document also contains unintended blank paragraphs or other spacing settings.

Will double spacing change the font or margins?
No. Line spacing changes the vertical distance between lines. It does not, by itself, change the font, font size, margins, or page orientation. Those settings can be adjusted separately if a document’s instructions require them.

Will the change affect documents I already saved?
Changing spacing in an open document affects that document when you save it. Setting a default based on the Normal template applies to new documents that use the template; it does not automatically reformat existing files. Open an existing file and apply double spacing to its text when needed.

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