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: Understanding At Least Line Spacing.

Understanding At Least Line Spacing

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 16, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


There are several methods Word can use for line spacing. Typically, the default spacing type (as specified in the Line Spacing field of the Paragraph formatting dialog box) is Auto. This means line spacing will be adjusted, automatically, based on the largest font size or element on each individual line.

The effect of the Auto setting is that if you end up with a line that has nothing but small type on it, then the spacing for that line will be less than for the other lines in the paragraph. If you don't want this to occur, you can use the At Least line spacing setting. This setting allows you to specify the minimum line spacing for the paragraph. Word is free to increase spacing beyond what you specify, but it cannot reduce it.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (169) 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: Understanding At Least Line Spacing.

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

Allowing Only Comments in a Document

Develop a document that is to be reviewed by a group of people, and you may want to protect it in some way. One way you ...

Discover More

Hiding Graphics when Filtering

Excel allows you to set up graphics so that they are associated with cells and even stay with the cells when the cells ...

Discover More

Changing Styles

Styles are a great boon to making your documents look better and making them easier to update. You can change the ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Keep with Previous

Word allows you to format a paragraph so that it is on the same page as whatever paragraph follows it. You may want, ...

Discover More

Removing Space Before Paragraphs

Want to quickly format a paragraph to remove any extra space before it? Word includes a tool that can make this change a ...

Discover More

Searching for Paragraph Formatting

You can use the Find and Replace capabilities of Word to search for a wide variety of information. One thing you can look ...

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 7 + 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.