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To single-space text while keeping the existing gaps between paragraphs, change only Line spacing to Single in Word’s Line Spacing Options. Leave the separate Before and After values untouched. This precise method works for selected paragraphs or the whole document.

Single-space text and preserve paragraph gaps in Word for Windows

  1. Click in the document and select the paragraphs you want to change. To select the entire document, press Ctrl+A.

  2. Go to Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > Line Spacing Options.

  3. In the Paragraph dialog, set Line spacing to Single.

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  4. Keep the existing values under Before and After unchanged, then select OK.

Line spacing controls the distance between lines of text; Before and After control the space around paragraphs. Microsoft Support describes line spacing as a setting for “the vertical space between the lines of text in your document.” Microsoft’s Word spacing instructions cover Microsoft 365 and Word 2024, 2021, 2019, and 2016 for Windows and Mac.

Do the same in Word for Mac

  1. Select the paragraphs to change, or select all text if the setting should apply throughout the document.

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  2. Choose Home > Line and Paragraph Spacing > Line Spacing Options.

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  3. Set Line spacing to Single. Leave Spacing > Before and After at their current values, then confirm the change.

Because the line and paragraph spacing controls are separate, changing only Line spacing is the key to retaining your existing paragraph gaps.

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When to use Word’s No Paragraph Space preset

For a quick whole-document change, choose Design > Paragraph Spacing > No Paragraph Space. Microsoft says this preset overrides the current style set, so it can alter paragraph gaps as well as line spacing. Use it only when removing paragraph spacing is acceptable—not when preserving custom Before and After values is essential.

To return to the previous preset, go to Design > Paragraph Spacing and choose Default or the style-set name shown there. Restoring a style-set choice is not guaranteed to recover every custom, per-paragraph edit in every document. For the documented preset and web notes, see Microsoft’s single-spacing instructions.

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Use Word for the web

Select the text, then choose Home > Paragraph > Line Spacing > 1. To adjust paragraph gaps separately where available, use Layout > Spacing > Before or After. Ribbon controls can vary across web builds; if you cannot find separate Before and After settings or Line Spacing Options, use desktop Word to preserve custom paragraph spacing precisely.

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Word for the web does not provide the documented route for changing the default line spacing for future documents. Microsoft says a new web document reverts to 1.15 line spacing. See Microsoft’s default line-spacing guidance.

Word on iPhone, iPad, and other mobile interfaces

Microsoft documents line-spacing choices from 1.0 to 3.0 for iPhone and iPad, along with commands in the mobile interfaces it describes for adding or removing space before or after paragraphs. It does not document numeric Before and After paragraph-spacing fields on iPhone or iPad. If you need to retain a custom measured paragraph gap, use desktop Word’s separate paragraph controls. Details are in Microsoft’s mobile spacing instructions.

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