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Change line spacing. How to change letter spacing in Word

When you start typing text in Word, you may encounter a problem when the space between the lines is quite large. This nuance can greatly spoil the document, making it unaesthetic. This can often be observed by downloading a document from the Internet. In both cases, the problem is incorrect formatting. In this article we will talk about in Word: how to reduce or, conversely, increase it. We'll tell you everything in detail and give you the three easiest ways, so that everyone will find something for themselves.

First method: for all versions of Word

As mentioned above, there will be three ways to make line spacing in Word smaller or larger. They are not very different from each other, but they are not suitable for all versions of the program. Therefore, the first method presented will be universal; it will be suitable for both Word 2003 and the 2016 version.

Now we will set the default line spacing parameters. This is done so that when you create a new document, you do not change these values ​​each time.

You need to create a new document in Word. After this, on the “Home” tab, you need to find a column called “Styles” in the toolbar (it is located in the very right corner). In this column, you need to click on the arrow icon, which is also located in the lower right corner. As soon as you do this, a small panel will appear with the ability to change the document style, but we don’t need this. In this panel, at the very bottom, there are three buttons - click the right one.

In the window that opens, you need to go to the "Default" tab. There is a column "Interval". It is there that the line spacing can be both reduced and increased. In general, use the presets in the dropdown list, enter values ​​manually, increase, decrease until you find the value that suits you. Click OK after checking the box next to "In new documents that use this template."

Second method: only for new versions of Word

We continue to talk about interline We have already figured out how to reduce or increase it, but this is just the only way. Now let's move on to the second. It is intended only for programs 2007 and higher. It will not work in Word 2003.

You also need to open a blank Word document, only this time pay attention not to the “Styles” column, but to the “Paragraph”. Click the same icon as last time and a settings window will open. In it you will see the same column - “Interval”, with the same parameters. All you need to do is specify the line spacing in Word (you already know how to reduce or increase it).

After that, click the button located at the very bottom - “Default”. In the window that opens, select "All documents based on the Normal template." Click "OK" and get started.

Third way: one click

Now we will look at how to change line spacing in Word in one click. This method only works if you need to change the values ​​in a separate piece of text.

So, in the "Home" tab, in the "Paragraph" section, find a button called "Spacing". By clicking it, you will see a list of all available intervals. Select the spacing you like, and it will change in the pre-selected text area. Also in the list, you can click “Other line spacing options” and the familiar “Paragraph” window will open.

The distance between lines of text is determined by leading (line spacing). In this case, the size of the height of the largest letter of the font used in a line is a unit of measurement of line spacing. In other words, by specifying one and a half spacing, you can get the distance between lines increased by half the height of the largest character. It follows that when changing the font size, the distance between lines automatically increases, while its value in relative units remains the same. You will need the Microsoft Office Word text editor.

How to set line spacing in Word

When you need to change the line spacing in a text document, you will need to use a text editor, for example, Microsoft Office Word. In the desired file, after opening it, the required text fragment is highlighted. Well, if you need to make changes to the leading of the entire document, then you can press CTRL+A and the entire document will be selected.

By clicking the line spacing changes icon in the text editor menu in the “Paragraph” option group on the “Home” tab, you can select one of six commonly used options in the drop-down list, or you can click on the “Other line spacing options” item. In this case, Word will open the “Indents and Spacing” tab in a separate window with paragraph parameters settings.

Expand the drop-down list under the text “line spacing” in the “Spacing” section. Here, the lines “Single”, “1.5 lines” and “Double” duplicate the corresponding items from 6 frequently used options. When you select the “Multiplier” line in the “value” field, you can designate any interval value, for example, 11.49. When you click the “Minimum” line, you can set the line spacing value in absolute units (points). Then the line spacing will not depend on the font (even if the user changes it, the leading will remain at the level specified in the “value” field). The “Exactly” item in this drop-down list also serves for similar purposes.

At the same time, while making changes, it is necessary to control the manipulations visually in the “Sample” window using the picture. As soon as the appearance of the sample takes the desired form of text, you will need to click the “OK” button. By the way, these settings can be seen without the main menu button; to do this, just right-click the selected piece of text (the context menu appears, then the “Paragraph” item).

Interline interval in text files indicates the vertical distance between words. Many documents have to be saved taking into account the requirements that are also often imposed on this text formatting option. By default, it is set to single in documents.

You will need

  • - computer;
  • – Microsoft Office Word program.

Instructions

1. Open the document using Word.

2. Select the part of the text to which you want to apply a metamorphosis of meaning interval A. Be careful that if the text contains large characters, certain mathematical operations, etc., interval between lines it changes independently.

3. On the first tab of the toolbar, click on the icon with the image of text and 2 arrows, one pointing up and one down. Click on it and select the value you need from the drop-down menu. There you can add interval before the paragraph or remove the space after it.

4. If the value you need was not indicated in the drop-down menu, then click on the item “Other line spacing options interval ov". There you can also specify parameters such as alignment and tabulation, text tier, word wrap, paragraph marking and many others.

5. If you need to apply metamorphosis interval and to each document text, then press the key combination Ctrl+A, and then change interval. Save the results.

6. If a certain value interval If you need to apply it to several unrelated passages of text, then select the first necessary words and phrases or paragraphs. Press and hold the Ctrl key while simultaneously selecting with the left mouse button the second part of the text that is subject to similar formatting. After this, without releasing the pressed key, click on the metamorphosis icon interval A. You will save the metamorphoses made.

7. Please note that you can also put interval to the “Multiplier” mode, then it will increase or decrease towards the end of the document. If you often use some type of line indent setting, you can make a sample to save your time repeating the formatting procedure.

In any document or printed publication, the text is formatted taking into account established design rules. One of the indispensable formatting features is setting line spacing. interval– the distance between the nearest lines. Line spacing in a word processor is measured in units that are proportional to the font size used. For different paragraphs and genres of text, line spacing may vary. Setting a fixed spacing between lines is done using text formatting tools in a text editor.

You will need

  • Microsoft Word word processor

Instructions

1. Launch the Microsoft Word word processor and open a formatted document for the text of which you want to set line spacing. Select a paragraph or part of text in this document. To select text, either grab the mouse cursor and circle the text on the editor sheet, or hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and move the current cursor.

2. After that, set the line spacing for the selected text. To do this, in the main menu of the text editor, click on the items “Format” - “Paragraph”. Later on the screen you will see a dialog box where all the parameters for formatting paragraphs are located. In this window, go to the “Indents and Spacing” tab.

3. In the window, in the “Spacing” section, find the “line spacing” drop-down list. Select the value you need from it. When specifying single, double or any other interval It is worth considering that the height of the line spacing will be calculated as the product of the corresponding multiplier by the font height set for a given paragraph.

4. When setting the “multiplier” parameter in the “line spacing” list, enter in the adjacent “value” field the indicator that you want to multiply the height of the specified paragraph font. If desired, set other parameters for the location of the paragraph in the window. Click the "OK" button. Line spacing in the selected text will be recalculated and set as required by the user.

Note!
Toolbars may differ in different versions of the program.

Helpful advice
Familiarize yourself with the requirements for various documentation before you begin formatting.

This is one of the most popular text settings. Different types of documents require different spacing between lines. Therefore, users are often faced with the need to increase or decrease the space between lines in Word. In this material we will talk about how this is done using the example of Word 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016.

How to reduce line spacing in Word 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 or 2016

In order to reduce the space between lines in Word 2007, 2010, 2013 or 2016, you need to select the text (to select all the text, press CTRL+A), go to the “Home” tab and click on the button called “Spacing”. This button will be located slightly to the right of the font settings (screenshot below).

Word 2003 also has such a button. It's on the toolbar.

After clicking on the “Spacing” button, a drop-down menu will open, using which you can specify the line spacing for the text. For example, you can select the spacing "1.0", this will slightly reduce the space between lines.

If this is not enough, then you can further reduce the distance between lines. To do this, select the text, click on the “Spacing” button and select the “Other line spacing options” menu item.

After this, the “Paragraph” window will open in front of you on the “Indents and Spacing” tab. Here at the bottom right there is a block for adjusting the distance between lines. To reduce the distance, simply enter a smaller value and close the window by clicking on the “Ok” button (screenshot below).

Note that in the Paragraph window you can also change how you adjust the spacing between lines. To do this, open the drop-down menu and select another option. The following methods for forming line spacing are available here:

  • Single - the spacing between lines is selected depending on the largest font in the line.
  • 1.5 lines – the spacing between lines is 1.5 lines. In fact, this is the same one.
  • Double - the spacing between lines is selected depending on the largest font in the line and is multiplied by 2.
  • Minimum – the minimum line spacing required for the normal display of all letters of the alphabet.
  • Exact – the exact size of the interval in points.
  • Multiplier is a standard way to adjust line spacing. Increases single spacing by the specified number of times.

For example, if you select the “Exactly” option, you can set the exact value of the distance between lines in points.

To save the settings, do not forget to click on the “Ok” button.

When writing documents for office work, as well as scientific publications and work, strict design criteria are given, including regarding line spacing.

Understanding the term “line spacing” gives you an idea of ​​how to minimize the distance between lines without compromising the readability of the text.

In cases where this value is not specified in the design criteria, no attention is paid to it, although this value helps to save space when printing.

What is line spacing

The spacing value depends on the font used, since the standard line width for this point size is taken to be 1. Accordingly, the distance between the lines will be approximately equal to the size of most letters.

The interval itself is calculated from the middle of the line vertically, which must be taken into account when changing the interval downward. If you take the value too small, the lines will overlap each other: the top of most beeches will be “eaten up” by the top line.

The concept of line spacing also includes indentation between paragraphs. In order to highlight the next paragraph, the line spacing between them can be increased compared to the rest of the text. This can be done for all paragraphs by default or only for individual paragraphs in the settings.

Why reduce the space between lines?

Reducing the spacing value can be useful when texts are printed for personal use. Reducing this value saves space on paper when printing, and you can also use this trick to highlight certain quotes or inserts to make them more compact compared to the rest of the text, thereby highlighting that fragment.

The default value in Microsoft Word is 1 or 1.5, so knowing this will help you adhere to design criteria that may not always match the default settings on your computer.

You can change the distance between lines at any time when writing text. If the spacing changes for a fragment that has already been written, it must be highlighted, since the text editor itself, by default, changes the settings only for the current paragraph, as well as for subsequent text.

Accordingly, you can set the interval settings in advance, and then get to work. Changing the distance between lines in this case will remain unchanged even after closing the document and when opening a new file for work.

To change the distance between lines for versions of Word 2007 and earlier, you need to select the “Spacing” icon on the main tab, which is located in the “Paragraph” subsection and looks like two arrows pointing up and down.

You can make the interval less than 1 only in the “Other interval options” section. When you select this field, the following window appears where you need to change the multiplier values.

In the Sample window, you can immediately see how the text will look after the change. Any multiplier values ​​can be specified. They can either be entered manually or selected using the up and down arrows next to the “Value” cell.

But in the second case, it is not possible to select values ​​less than 1. Please note that you need to select exactly “ Factor" This category means that the initial width of the space between lines (for example, 11 pt) will be multiplied by the specified value.

When multiplied by a value less than 1, the overall parameter decreases, reducing the distance. The minimum value that can be entered in the column is 0.01. It is worth noting that even with an interval of 0.2-0.3 the text cannot be read.

In addition to the “Multiplier” line, you can use “Minimum”. The trick of this column is that instead of the standard point measured in pt (points), you can set the value for the interval in centimeters and millimeters.

In this case, the distance between the lines will be the same even when changing the font. In order to change an item to centimeters or millimeters, you need to remove “pt” in the value line and write the abbreviation cm or mm through a space after the number.

The lines “Single”, “Double” and “One and a half” will set the spacing to 1, 2 and 1.5, respectively. The “Exactly” line will indicate the font size, which will be equal to the value 1 for line spacing.

In this line you can also change this value, but only in points. You can manually calculate this distance. 1 point is approximately equal to 0.35-0.37mm depending on the country. The US does not use a unified metric system, so points are equal to 1/72 of an inch.

A similar menu can be opened not only from the command line, located in the header of the open text editor. There is also a faster way when using the context menu.

To do this, just click the right mouse button once and select the “Paragraph” section from the drop-down window, confirming your choice by clicking the left mouse button, as in all other cases with selecting a specific item from the drop-down list.

How to change spacing in older versions of Word

In the Word 2003 version, the program interface is slightly different, which may make it difficult to find the required section. However, the corresponding values ​​are still located in the “Paragraph” subsection. You can find this subsection:

  • Through the context menu, which remains approximately the same for all versions, so just right-click and select “Paragraph”.
  • Through the header of an open text editor, when selecting the “Format” tab. A list will automatically drop out of it, among the names of which will also be “Paragraph”, which is necessary to change the distance between lines.