This tutorial shows how to adjust paragraph spacing in Microsoft Word. First, we will change the spacing before and after individual paragraphs. Then, we will adjust the space before and after all the paragraphs in a document.
Don’t miss the brief discussion at the end about Word’s built-in paragraph spacing options—and why you may not want to use them.
These steps don’t affect the line spacing within the paragraphs. For information about line spacing, please see “How to Adjust Line Spacing in Microsoft Word.”
Table of Contents
- How to Adjust the Space Before and After Individual Paragraphs
- How to Adjust the Space Before and After All Paragraphs
- What about the Built-In Paragraph Spacing Options?
This tutorial’s companion video shows all the steps in real time.
Watch more than 150 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.
Are you on a Mac? Please see “How to Adjust Paragraph Spacing in Word for Mac.”
How to Adjust the Space Before and After Individual Paragraphs
- Select the Home tab.
- (Optional) Select the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group to reveal your formatting marks, including paragraph marks.
- Select the paragraph or paragraphs you want to adjust.
- Select the Line and Paragraph Spacing button in the Paragraph group.
- (Basic Method) Select Add Space Before Paragraph or Remove Space After Paragraph from the drop-down menu.Alternatively, you will have the option to select Remove Space Before Paragraph or Add Space After Paragraph if the paragraph spacing has already been adjusted.
Important Note: The size of the adjustment is based on the paragraph’s current font size.
- (Advanced Method) Select Line Spacing Options from the drop-down menu.
- Enter an amount into the Before or After text box in the Paragraph dialog box.
Pro Tip: Avoid entering numbers in the Before and After text boxes at the same time because multiple adjustments may cause unwanted results.
- Ensure that Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style is not selected.
- Select the OK button.
The spacing should be adjusted for the selected paragraph(s).
How to Adjust the Space Before and After All Paragraphs
This process adjusts the paragraph spacing for the entire document without affecting the spacing for headings.
- Select the Design tab.
- Select the Paragraph Spacing button in the Document Formatting group.
- Select Custom Paragraph Spacing from the drop-down menu.
- Enter an amount into the Before or After text box in the Manage Styles dialog box.
Pro Tip: Avoid entering numbers in the Before and After text boxes at the same time because multiple adjustments may cause unwanted results.
- Select the OK button.
The paragraph spacing should be adjusted for the entire document. The heading spacing should not be affected.
What about the Built-In Paragraph Spacing Options?
The Paragraph Spacing menu in the Design tab includes six built-in options. You can use these options instead of custom paragraph spacing. However, these options will also adjust the line spacing within your paragraphs.
Related Resources
Three Ways to Indent Paragraphs in Microsoft Word