Addressing Spacing Issues | Microsoft Word Version 2002 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft))

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You can adjust line spacing in your documents to help create a stylistic impression or improve readability. In particular, you can control line spacing within paragraphs as well as specify the amount of space above and below paragraphs.

Specifying Line Spacing

Long gone are the days when you had to press Return twice at the end of each line of text to double-space your paragraphs. Now creating line spacing is a simple matter of configuring paragraph settings before, during, or after you enter text. In Word, you can adjust line spacing in several ways, including using the Formatting toolbar, keyboard shortcuts, and the Paragraph dialog box.

newfeature! One fast way to configure a paragraph's line spacing is to click in the paragraph you want to configure or select multiple paragraphs and then click the Line Spacing button on the Formatting toolbar. The Line Spacing drop-down menu offers the following options: 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, or More. Selecting a number option instantly adjusts the selected paragraphs' line spacing. If you select More, the Paragraph dialog box opens.

Tip - Apply line spacing to subsequent paragraphs

After you select a line spacing option on the Line Spacing drop-down menu, you can click the Line Spacing button to apply the specified line spacing to subsequently selected paragraphs. To view the current line spacing setting, simply hover the mouse pointer over the Line Spacing button. The ToolTip will display the current setting in parentheses—for example, Line Spacing (3).

Using the Paragraph dialog box, you can adjust paragraph line spacing to a precise 1/10 of a point by using the Line Spacing option in conjunction with the At box on the Indents And Spacing tab (see Figure 7-5). By default, Word formats paragraphs using single-line spacing that is adjusted automatically based on the paragraph font's size. The Line Spacing drop-down list provides the following options:

Single accommodates the largest font per line plus a small amount of extra space to create the appearance of a single-spaced paragraph. This is the default setting.
1.5 Lines inserts one-and-one-half times the space allotted for a single line space to selected paragraph(s).
Double inserts twice the space allotted for a single line space to the selected paragraph(s).
At Least sets a minimum space for each line as specified in the At box. When Word encounters a larger font size or a graphic that won't fit in the minimum space, Word increases that line's spacing to accommodate the text or graphic.
Exactly forces Word to apply an exact line spacing, as specified in the At box, regardless of what size text or graphics Word encounters. (By default, Word automatically accommodates the largest text or graphic in a line.)
Multiple allows you to use the At box to specify a line spacing setting from 0.06 through 132 lines, in increments of 1/100 of a line. This option provides extra-fine control over line spacing.

To apply a line spacing setting using the Paragraph dialog box, click in the paragraph you want to format or select multiple paragraphs, and then choose Format, Paragraph, and click the Indents And Spacing tab, or right-click, choose Paragraph on the shortcut menu, and click the Indents And Spacing tab. Specify your line spacing settings, and click OK.

Last but not least, you can quickly adjust a paragraph's line spacing by clicking in a paragraph or selecting multiple paragraphs and pressing any of the following keyboard shortcuts:

Ctrl+1 applies single-line spacing to selected paragraphs.
Ctrl+2 applies double-line spacing to selected paragraphs.
Ctrl+5 applies 1.5-line spacing to selected paragraphs.

Adjusting Spacing Above and Below Paragraphs

In addition to adding spacing between lines within your paragraphs, you can configure the space displayed above and below paragraphs. Adding space around paragraphs is an old typesetters' trick used to create a particular look-and-feel for a document and to improve readability. In Word, adding space above and below paragraphs produces the desired typesetting results and provides added control during document adjustments tasks. For example, you're not limited to separating paragraphs by one or two lines—you can separate paragraphs by 0.5 inch, 3.2 inches, and so forth. In addition, if you use spacing consistently within your document and you find that your document (or a section within your document) runs a little long or comes up a tad short, you can select the entire document, a section, or a few paragraphs and adjust the paragraph spacing options using the Paragraph dialog box to tighten up or lengthen your document.

To add spacing above and below selected paragraphs, follow these steps:

Click in the paragraph you want to configure, or select multiple paragraphs.
Choose Format, Paragraph, and click the Indents And Spacing tab.
Enter values in the Before and After boxes in the Spacing section, and click OK. The Before and After spacing options require you to specify in points how much space to insert before and after paragraphs. Keep in mind that 72 points equals approximately 1 inch.

If you create styles for your documents, you'll want to consider configuring the Before and After settings when you create paragraph styles. Adding before and after spacing to paragraph styles helps to ensure that spacing will be applied consistently and automatically throughout your document.

For more information about creating styles, see Chapter 10, "Using Styles to Increase Your Formatting Power."

Tip - Add line spaces before paragraphs

You can instantly add a full line space before a paragraph by selecting the paragraph(s) you want to format and pressing Ctrl+0 (zero). If you select multiple paragraphs, pressing Ctrl+0 adds a blank line space before each paragraph included in the selection.