Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. 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 Leading.

Understanding Leading

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 14, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, and 2013


5

Leading is a typographical term referring to the vertical space from the same point on one line to the same point on the next, within the same paragraph. Typically, this distance is measured from baseline to baseline, where the baseline is the reference line on which your characters rest.

Leading is typically measured in points. In Word, leading is referred to as Line Spacing, although this is not technically correct. Line spacing is more comprehensive, implying less exacting terms or measurements than required by traditional typesetting.

When you want to specify your leading, you should follow an old typographical convention that states that line leading should be 120% of the point size of your font. Thus, according to this rule, if the font you are using is 10-point Arial, then your line leading should be 12 points. In typographical terms, this is referred to as 10/12 Arial (pronounced "10 on 12 Arial"). Likewise, if you are using 28-point Courier, then your leading should be 33.6 points. You can round this to 34 points, even though Word will accept fractional point sizes.

There are several methods Word can use for leading. Typically, the default leading type (as specified in the Line Spacing field of the Paragraph dialog box) is Auto. This means that line leading will be adjusted, automatically, based on the largest font size or element on each individual line. Word does this by applying the 120% rule to the largest font size or element on the line.

The problem with Auto leading is that it can leave your paragraphs looking uneven and choppy, particularly if you mix fonts and point sizes within the same paragraph. To overcome this, always specify that Line Spacing should be Exactly, and then set a point size in the At box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13213) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Understanding Leading.

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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Comments

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What is 2 + 6?

2020-10-06 19:24:21

Andre Griminitz

Thank you, Allen. This helped me to resolve an issue with uneven table cells and headings that had me stumped.


2020-09-04 06:46:41

Wendy Francis

Adam, what are your thoughts about the relatively recent "Multiple" line spacing? this appears to be the default now, set at 1.15. This is explained as having the effect of increasing the line spacing by 15% so this should surely take care of any variations in height required? Is this what you mean by "auto leading" ? I get what you mean about this making it look choppy. But if you set a fixed point size how do you avoid a large font in a line crashing into the line above?


2018-10-16 14:50:38

Bob Hamilton

1. Word sucks at Leading adjustment
2. To adjust leading in the case where you have a very large font and Word puts WAAYYY too much white space above and below it do the following:
a. In Paragraph Settings set the Line Spacing to Exactly nnn pt, where nnn is found by trial and error to be a good number. For reference, with a 400pt Times New Roman capital "E", I used 300pt.
b. In Font Settings, under Character Spacing, set Position to Lowered and By: ppp, where ppp is found by trial and error. For reference, with the above 400pt Times New Roman capital "E", line spacing set to 300pt, I lowered by 50pt and that worked well.
Cheers!
Bob


2016-04-13 11:51:38

Paul Franklin Stregevsky

Same here, merryjoe. I thought, "Maybe Word offers 'Auto' only when a paragraph contains two or more font sizes." But no; I just tried it.


2016-04-12 21:11:13

merryjoe

In our version of Word 2010, there is no Auto choice in the Line Spacing field of the Paragraph dialog box. Only choices in the drop-down are "Single, 1.5 lines, Double, At least, Exactly, Multiple". Did Word remove the Auto choice?

There's an Auto choice for Space Before and Space After, but those don't really have to do with Leading within a paragraph, right?


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