Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Adjusting Spacing After a Paragraph.

Adjusting Spacing After a Paragraph

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 20, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you use a typewriter, or even some rudimentary word processors, to add space between paragraphs you simply press the Enter key a few times. While you can also do this in Word, the program gives you much greater control over the spacing between paragraphs—if you choose to use it. To modify the amount of space left between the end of one paragraph and the start of the next, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure the insertion point is in the paragraph that you want to adjust spacing after.
  2. Choose the Paragraph option from the Format menu. Word displays the Paragraph dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Paragraph dialog box.

  4. Change the amount in the After box to reflect how much space you want to leave after the current paragraph.
  5. Click on OK.

To adjust the value in the After box, you can use the up and down arrows to the right of the box, or you can enter a value directly. Values can be entered in any of the standard measurements accepted by Word.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (171) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Adjusting Spacing After a Paragraph.

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

Line Breaks After a Slash

Some writers use the slash to combine words and as shorthand to signify "or" or "and." This, of course, makes for some ...

Discover More

Always Open at 100% Zoom

Tired of shared workbooks opening at some strange zoom factor that makes viewing your data difficult? Here's how to make ...

Discover More

Odd Page Numbers Disappearing

Page numbers in printed pages are often a necessary part of formatting a document. What do you do if your printed output ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Keeping Part of a Paragraph with the Next Block of Text

If you are a WordPerfect user, you may be very familiar with the block-protect feature and wonder if there is a similar ...

Discover More

Quickly Adjusting Paragraph Spacing

Need to easily adjust the vertical spacing that follows a paragraph? You can do it using dialog boxes or you can create ...

Discover More

Hanging Indents in Wrapped Text

If you use hanging indents for some of your paragraphs, you may wonder why they don't look right when they wrap on the ...

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 five more than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon 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.