Adding Common Line Spacing Options

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 16, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


2

On the Home tab of the ribbon Valerie can use the Line and Paragraph Spacing tool (in the Paragraph group) to choose some standard line spacing options such as 1.0, 1.15, 1.5, etc. She would like to include some other line spacing options that she uses quite a lot, such as 1.2, 1.23, 1.25, etc. She wonders if there is a way to modify the options shown in the tool.

There is no way to modify the options available on that particular tool's drop-down list, at least not as far as I've been able to determine. However, there may be an easier way to accomplish your desire instead of trying to modify the tool—just use styles.

The whole idea behind styles is to consistently apply common formatting to your text. Thus, if you commonly want to have paragraphs that use 1.2 line spacing, you could create a style for that formatting need and apply it where you need it. Styles can also be associated with keyboard shortcuts, which means that you'd be able to apply them very quickly. If you prefer, you could also add your custom style to the Style Gallery that appears on the Home tab of the ribbon. (How you create styles, associate them with shortcut keys, and add them to the gallery have been covered in other issues of WordTips. Just do some judicious searching on the WordTips website and you'll find all the info you need.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12912) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Using Multiple References to the Same Footnote

Do you want to have multiple footnote references to the same actual footnote in a document? The easiest way to do this is ...

Discover More

Entering a Name in the Header of a Locked Form

When you lock a document as a form, then Word limits what you can do with that document. That includes not being able to ...

Discover More

Leading Spaces in Document File Names

If you try to add spaces to the beginning of a document's file name, Word normally strips them away. This tip examines ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Increasing Font Size in the Editor Task Pane

Let's face it, there are times that the text in a task pane or dialog box is just too small to read. If you want to ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Blue Squiggly Underlines

In an effort to make your writing better, Word uses "squiggly" underlines to mark things it thinks you may need to ...

Discover More

Displaying the File Tab of the Ribbon by Default

When you first start Word, it displays the Home tab of the ribbon. If you want to display a different ribbon tab by ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 8?

2021-01-17 18:29:43

Karen

Also, rather than using variations on 1.15 spacing, you can use "Exactly." This gives you incredible control over how close together the lines are. In "Exactly" you specify how many points you want between lines. "Single" spacing for 12 point type might be comparable to "exactly 15 points." As Allen notes, you can make the setting easily accessible by using Styles. And as a reminder, each Style dialogue box offers the possibility of setting up a keyboard shortcut for that style, such as, for example ALT + t.


2021-01-16 04:45:20

Simon Freeman

If you select the "Multiple" option for line spacing you can type in your choice e.g 1.85. I appreciate this isn't saved and then available later but it is pretty useful.


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.