How to Double Space in Word 2010

Learning how to double space in Word 2010 will provide you with a good skill to have when you are typing documents for a job or school that has specific formatting requirements. Teachers often like double-spaced documents because they provide additional space for notes, while employers might like them because they are easier to read.

Our article below is split into two sections. The first section will show you how to apply double spacing to a new or existing document, while the second section will show you how to change the default spacing setting in Word 2010 to double spacing.

How to Double Space in Word 2010

  1. Open the document.
  2. Select everything.
  3. Click Home.
  4. Choose Line and Paragraph Spacing, then 2.0.

Our article continues below with additional information on double spacing in Word 2010, including pictures of these steps. Click here for information on double spacing in newer versions of Word.

How to Double Space a Document in Word 2010 (Guide with Pictures)

These steps will show you how to double space a single document in Word 2010. If you would like to change the default spacing options for all future documents, then you can continue to the next section to set the default line spacing setting.

Step 1: Open the document in Word 2010.

Step 2: Click inside the document, then press Ctrl + A on your keyboard to select the entire document. Note that you can skip this step if you are working with a new document.

select the whole document

Step 3: Click the Home tab at the top of the window.

open the Home menu

Step 4: Click the Line and Paragraph Spacing button, then select the 2.0 option.

how to double space in Word 2010

How to Set Default Double Spacing in Word 2010

This section will show you how to change the default setting for new documents that you create using the Normal template.

Step 1: Open a new document in Word 2010.

Step 2: Click Home at the top of the window.

click the Home tab

Step 3: Click the small button at the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph section of the ribbon.

open the Paragraph settings menu

Step 4: Click the Line spacing drop-down menu, select Double, then click the Set as Default button at the bottom of the window.

how to double space in word 2010 by default

Step 5: Select the All documents based on the Normal template option, then click the OK button.

apply double spacing to the normal template

Would you like to save your documents to a different default location? Find out how to change the save location in Word 2010 and specify where your saved documents are stored.

Additional Reading