Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Understanding Underlines.

Understanding Underlines

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 7, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365


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The easiest way to underline text is to select the text and then press Ctrl+U. Word adds a simple underline. If you want more types of underlines, display the Home tab of the ribbon and use the down-arrow next to the Underline tool in the Font group. This allows you to select 8 or 9 different underlining styles.

If you want the greatest control over underlines, however, you need to display the Font dialog box, which is most easily displayed by pressing Ctrl+D. The dialog box allows you to select from a wide variety of underline types, using the Underline Style drop-down list. The following are the major types of underlines available:

Underline Type Meaning
None Removes any underlining from the selected text
Single Adds a single underline, the entire length of the selected text
Words Only Underlines only the words (not spaces or tabs) in the selected text
Double Adds a double-line underline, the entire length of the selected text
Dots Same as Single, but uses a line of dots instead
Dashes Same as Dots, but uses dashes instead of dots

Remember that these are only the major types of underlines; there are actually many more. In fact, Word offers 18 different types of underlines using the Underline Style drop-down list. Most of these options represent variations on the Single, Dots, and Dashes options mentioned above.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11188) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Understanding Underlines.

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. ...

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What is five minus 1?

2025-06-16 17:43:04

Paula

Underline now signals a link, so underlining anything else is likely to result in unrequited clicking :)


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