Adjusting Gridline Spacing

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 24, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365

Dennis can turn on gridlines in a document, which seems to be used as a guide for object placement. He wonders if there is a way to adjust the gridlines in order to specify a distance between each of the lines.

Gridlines are used for exactly what Dennis surmised—a guide for object placement. You can turn them on, and they don't print. You turn them on by displaying the View tab of the ribbon and checking the Gridlines check box in the Show or Show/Hide group.

Display the Page Layout or Layout tab of the ribbon.
In the Arrange group, click the Align drop-down list.
Select the Grid Settings option from the drop-down list. Word displays the Drawing Grid dialog box (Word 2007 and Word 2010) or the Grid and Guides dialog box (Word 2013 and later). (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Grid and Guides dialog box.

Using the two controls in the Grid Settings area, change the Horizontal Spacing and Vertical Spacing as desired.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10810) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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