what to know
- In the browser: Go to Format -> Line and Paragraph Spacing -> Double.
- From the toolbar: Highlight the text, then click the Line Spacing icon , then click Double.
In Google Docs, line spacing defaults to 1.15. If you need extra space, this article explains how to use double space.
Most people who use word processing applications like Google Docs go directly to the format menu when they want to change the format of a document. You can also use this menu to change the document's line spacing, or create a new default format.
Open an existing document or create a new one in Google Docs, and place your cursor where you want double-spacing to begin.
If there is already text in the document that you want to reformat to double-spacing, highlight all the text that you want to change.
Then select the Format menu.
In the Format menu, hover over Line and Paragraph Spacing and select Double.
Although it's easier to double-spaced documents in Google Docs using the Format menu, there's an easier way. It involves using the formatting toolbar at the top of the page.
Open an existing document or create a new one in Google Docs, and place your cursor where you want the double-spacing to begin. If you wish, you can also highlight existing text to change it to double-spaced format.
Click the Line Spacing icon in the Format toolbar.
Select Double from the spacing menu that appears.
Google Docs works slightly differently on mobile devices like Android or iOS than when used in a web browser. Line spacing also behaves differently, but it's still not difficult to change.
When working on a document on a mobile device, there are only four options for leading. They are 1 , 1.15 , 1.5 and 2 . You cannot apply custom formats using mobile devices.
Open the document in Google Docs on your mobile device and click the edit (pencil) icon in the lower right corner.
Select the format icon at the top of the next page.
Then click Paragraph in the format menu that appears and use the up and down arrows next to the leading number to adjust the leading of your document. This will change the line spacing of the paragraph where the cursor is located. To change another paragraph, you need to repeat the process.
Single and double spacing aren't the only options in Google Docs. Whether you use the Line Spacing option in the Format menu or the Line Spacing option on the toolbar, there are some additional options available to you.
You'll first encounter the quick line spacing options of Single , 1.15 , 1.5 , and Double . These quick picks are the most common line spacing options, but you can select Custom Spacing to create the unique line spacing you need to fit the document you're creating.
Custom Spacing Opens the Custom Spacing dialog box, where you can set the spacing between lines and the spacing before and after paragraphs. This will apply to the highlighted text or any text you made changes to until you change these options again.
Additionally, in both menus, you can choose to add a space before a paragraph or a space after a paragraph . This automatically adds spaces to the beginning or end of the paragraph (or both) on a hard return.
You can also choose how line spacing affects the flow of your document by choosing how each line behaves when you create a new page. You can choose to align with next , keep rows together , or prevent single rows .
All of these options affect how paragraphs break up when you reach the end of a page and start a new page.
While the standard formatting in Google Docs is usually sufficient for most purposes, there may be other reasons for increasing line spacing. Probably the most important reason is having extra editing space.
In most cases, double spacing is standard during the drafting stage of a document, especially large documents such as long essays or even book manuscripts. In times like these, when you need extra space, it's best to know all the ways to double space on Google Docs.
