How to Get Rid of Double Spacing in Microsoft Word

To get rid of double spacing in Word, select the affected text, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 1.0. If the extra gaps remain, use the same menu to choose Remove Space After Paragraph, or adjust paragraph spacing in the Paragraph dialog. These steps apply to Microsoft Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows; Mac instructions and fixes for extra spaces between words are included below.

What You’ll Need

A Word document with spacing you want to change.
Permission to edit the document. If it is shared or important, save a copy before making a document-wide change.

You do not need an add-in or special tool. Word’s paragraph controls handle line spacing and the space before or after paragraphs. A separate Find and Replace operation can remove repeated spaces between words.

Step-by-Step

Identify which kind of spacing you mean. Double line spacing makes the lines within a paragraph farther apart. Paragraph spacing creates extra room between paragraphs, even when each line itself is single-spaced. Two spaces between words or after punctuation are ordinary typed spaces, not paragraph or line spacing. Look at where the gap appears before changing anything; the right fix depends on its location.
Select the text to change. To change the whole document, click in its text and press Ctrl+A on Windows. If the document contains multiple sections, pressing it once may select the current story or text area; press it again if necessary to select the entire document. To change only part, drag across the relevant paragraphs. On a Mac, use Command+A to select all. You can also change one paragraph by clicking inside it without selecting the whole paragraph.
Set line spacing to single. On Windows, go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing in the Paragraph group, then choose 1.0. The control is the button with horizontal lines and vertical arrows. The selected text should now have single spacing between its lines. On Word for Mac, use the Home tab and the Line and Paragraph Spacing control, then choose 1.0. If the ribbon is collapsed, expand it or open the Paragraph settings described in the next step.
Remove extra space between paragraphs. Keep the same text selected, open Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing, and choose Remove Space After Paragraph if that option appears. If the gap is above paragraphs, look for Remove Space Before Paragraph as well. These commands affect paragraph spacing, which is separate from line spacing. The wording or available command can depend on the current paragraph settings, so check the result rather than assuming the command changed every kind of gap.
Use the Paragraph dialog for precise settings. On Windows, select the text and open Home, then click the small dialog launcher at the lower-right corner of the Paragraph group. On Mac, open Format > Paragraph. In the dialog’s Indents and Spacing area, set Before and After under Spacing to 0 pt if you want no extra paragraph gap. Set Line spacing to Single, then select OK. Check the preview or the document to confirm that the layout still looks right; a document may intentionally use a small amount of space after paragraphs.
Check the style if the spacing returns. Word applies formatting through styles such as Normal, Body Text, or a heading style. Click in a paragraph that still looks double-spaced and check which style is highlighted in Home > Styles. If the style itself specifies double spacing, changing only the current selection may not fix newly typed or restyled text. On Windows, right-click the relevant style in the Styles gallery, choose Modify, then use Format > Paragraph to set the desired spacing. On Mac, open the style’s menu in the Styles pane or gallery and choose its modify option, then adjust its paragraph settings. Be cautious: modifying a style can change every paragraph that uses it.
Remove two typed spaces if that is the problem. If you see two spaces between words or after sentence-ending punctuation, use Find and Replace rather than paragraph controls. On Windows, press Ctrl+H. In the Find what box, enter two spaces; in Replace with, enter one space; then choose Replace All. In Word for Mac, open Home > Replace and enter the same values. Word does not make the spaces visible in those boxes, so count carefully. If the document contains runs of three or more spaces, repeat the replacement until Word reports that it found no more matches.
Review the result and save. Scroll through the changed area, including headings, lists, tables, and page breaks. If you changed the whole document, spot-check sections with different formatting. Use Undo immediately if an unwanted change occurred, then repeat the process with a narrower selection or a more specific setting. Save the document when the spacing is correct.

Common Mistakes

Changing line spacing when paragraph spacing is the real issue. A single-spaced paragraph can still have a visible gap beneath it because its After value is larger than zero. Conversely, removing space after a paragraph does not turn double-spaced lines into single-spaced lines. Check both controls when the result is still too loose.

Selecting only part of the document by accident. A change applies only to the selected text. If some pages still look different, check whether they were included in the selection and whether they use different styles or sections. Avoid repeatedly changing the whole document if only one paragraph is affected.

Replacing spaces without checking the text. Replacing two spaces with one is useful for ordinary prose, but some documents use multiple spaces for alignment or a fixed layout. Find and Replace may also change spaces in text you meant to preserve. Save a copy first if the document is long, carefully formatted, or shared with others.

Using blank paragraphs to control layout. Several empty paragraphs can create large gaps that survive a line-spacing change. Turn on formatting marks with Home > ¶ to see paragraph marks and spaces. Remove only the empty paragraph marks you do not need; deleting them may pull text onto a previous page or change the layout.

Tips

Use formatting marks when you cannot tell whether a gap comes from spaces, paragraph breaks, or settings. The ¶ button on the Home tab shows paragraph marks and other nonprinting characters; click it again to hide them.
For a consistent document, set spacing in the styles used for body text and headings instead of manually formatting each paragraph. This makes later edits more predictable.
If you only want to change one paragraph, click inside it and adjust its settings. You usually do not need to highlight every character in that paragraph.
Use the Paragraph dialog when you need a specific amount of space, such as 6 pt after paragraphs, rather than removing all paragraph spacing. A restrained gap can make a document easier to scan.
When editing a template or a document with carefully designed page breaks, save a separate copy before changing styles or applying settings to all text.

Troubleshooting

The text still looks double-spaced after choosing 1.0. Open the Paragraph dialog and check the Line spacing setting for the affected text. It may be set to a custom value, or the extra vertical gap may come from Before or After spacing. Also check for empty paragraphs between lines. If only some paragraphs remain different, select one of them and inspect its style and settings rather than applying another global change.

New paragraphs go back to double spacing. The style may be applying double spacing automatically. Modify the style used for the paragraph, or choose a different style with the intended settings. Also check whether you are typing in a different section or inside a table, where separate formatting can apply. After correcting the style, create a new paragraph and confirm that it keeps the desired spacing.

Replace All reports no matches. Make sure Find what contains two ordinary spaces, not a tab or a nonbreaking space. Turn on ¶ to inspect the text, and try selecting and copying the suspected gap into the Find box if it may contain a special character. Confirm that the search is not restricted to a selection or a particular part of the document. If repeated spaces remain, run Replace All again; each pass can reduce a longer run by one space.

Spacing changes in only some places or the page count shifts. Different styles, section formatting, tables, and manual page breaks can produce different results. Check the affected paragraph’s settings and inspect formatting marks before deleting anything. Reducing spacing can move text onto earlier pages, so review headers, page breaks, and page numbering afterward. Use Undo if the revised layout causes problems, then make a smaller, targeted change.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make the entire Word document single-spaced?
Select the document with Ctrl+A on Windows or Command+A on Mac, then choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > 1.0. Check paragraph Before and After values too if gaps remain.

Does choosing 1.0 remove the space between paragraphs?
No. The 1.0 option changes spacing between lines. Use Remove Space After Paragraph or set Before and After values in the Paragraph dialog to change paragraph gaps.

How can I remove double spaces after periods?
Open Find and Replace, search for two spaces, and replace them with one. Review the document afterward, especially if multiple spaces are used for layout or alignment.

How do I show spaces and paragraph breaks in Word?
On the Home tab, select the ¶ button. Word displays nonprinting marks so you can distinguish typed spaces, paragraph endings, and empty paragraphs. Select the button again to hide them.

Can I change spacing without affecting the whole document?
Yes. Select only the paragraphs you want to change, or click in one paragraph and adjust its settings. If the change keeps spreading to other text, check whether you are modifying a shared style instead of direct paragraph formatting.

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