Reducing the Size of Spaces in a Selection

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 27, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

George would like to condense only the space between words in some text he selects in a document. He can change the point size of each space, one at a time. He can also do it by finding the space and replacing it with a space that is a smaller font size. However, he would like to decrease the size of the spaces step by step. (For example, 0.1 points in each step.)

It isn't possible to do exactly what George wants because Word only allows you to adjust font size in half-point increments, not tenth-point increments. If decrementing by a half-point at a time will do, then the best approach is to use a macro:

Sub StepSpaceFontSize()
    Dim F As Double
    Dim C As Long

    For C = 1 To Len(Selection)
        If Asc(Mid(Selection, C, 1)) = 32 Then
            F = Selection.Range.Characters(C).Font.Size
            If F > 5 Then
                Selection.Range.Characters(C).Font.Size = (F - 0.5)
            End If
        End If
    Next C
End Sub

The macro steps through each character in whatever text is selected and, if the character is a space, decreases the point size of just that space. The macro enforces a bottom limit on font size, as it will only go down to 5 points.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13717) 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. Learn more about Allen...

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What is 3 + 9?

2019-12-28 06:47:20

Ken Endacott

The macro must be executed for each 0.5 point reduction in space size. The following macro repeats the reductions until cancelled.

Sub StepSpaceSize()
Dim aRange As Range
Dim k As Long
Dim F As Single
Set aRange = Selection.Range
Do While MsgBox("Reduce all spaces in selection by 0.5 points", vbOKCancel) = vbOK
k = 1
Do
If aRange.Characters(k) = " " Then
F = aRange.Characters(k).Font.Size
aRange.Characters(k).Font.Size = F - 0.5
End If
k = k + 1
Loop Until k > Len(aRange.Text)
aRange.Select
Loop
End Sub

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