Space in Word or Change Line Space: Character Spacing

There are Word functions related to word spacing such as Double Space In Word that few use due to ignorance. This increases the work we do on a daily basis, and consequently, we lose time or in the worst case even patience. Hence the importance of gradually acquiring all the skills and becoming true experts in handling this useful Microsoft Office tool.

Before delving into the subject of word spacing between characters, it is necessary to clarify some basic terms handled in Word, which must be very well differentiated to avoid possible confusion regarding their handling and interpretation.

What is called a character in a Word document?

The character in the scope of Microsoft Office and fundamentally in Word refers to any letter, number, space, or special symbol that is introduced in the document. All versions of Word, as of 2003, give the option of word and character counts.

In DownloadWordGratis I tell you that the option of counting characters and words can be useful when the length of the content text is governed by specific parameters, that is when there is an academic, personal, or work requirement regarding the maximum number of characters or words. The Word program also offers different ways to include special characters in the text.

What is spacing in Word?

There are different types of spacing in Word or the space between words in word, and each of them has a different function:

• Word space between words: Used to separate characters or special symbols.
• Line spacing (line spacing): Used to set the line spacing to single, 1.5 lines, Double Space In Word, minimum, exact, or multiple.
• Spacing between paragraphs: Change the spacing at the end of each paragraph to 6 points, 12, 24, etc …
  Each of these tools is used to visually improve writing, and therefore the content of the text, are available in the various Word menus.

Double Space In Word What is character spacing?

The spacing is an advanced feature of the dialog called “Source” which allows the increase or decrease the spacing between one character and another. It is accessed from the “Source” in the “Advanced” line and is used, for example, when you are designing a short title on a horizontal sheet and you require that it occupy a larger space.

Generally, what people do is repeatedly put blank spaces between characters of the title, with the aim of extending the title further. But to solve this situation, Word offers the possibility to modify the spacing between characters.

The spacing between characters is a concept of a typographic nature of special relevance in the design of written texts. For professionals dedicated to the production of documents and books, it is essential to know the ways to make their creations more legible from the title, the cover to the entire body of the text.

In the typographic alphabet, symbols or pictures are called glyphs, which are embedded in a small invisible rectangle called “type”, whose function is to place the letters in the correct distance and sequence. For this reason, programs must determine the necessary space that the glyph will occupy to move to the other letter, without “linking” to each other. In technical terms, this distance is called “advance width” or thickness.

How to change the character spacing in Word?

To avoid wasting time using the “space” key repeatedly from the keyboard, Word offers the option of doing it automatically from its menu. For this, the steps detailed in the following lines must be followed:

• Select the content of the text you want to modify.
• Press the right mouse button and choose the Font option.
• Click on the Advanced tab.
• In the Spacing row, choose according to preference: Normal, Compressed, or Expanded.
• Define the required value in the Inbox.

Choosing between Compressed or Expanded will automatically change the spacing between characters. This new distance obtained between characters will have the same proportion causing the paragraph of the text to be compressed or expanded. Avoid compressing or exaggerating the writing, because it can create difficulties for understanding and reading the compendium.

Word commands the spacing between characters from the Advanced tab of the Font option. In the Microsoft Office program, it uses different names depending on the language. These terms are used for the Spanish language version of Word.

• Spacing
• Scale
• Position
• Kerning for Fonts (Learning)

These definitions are different and involve small changes in the horizontal spacing between characters. The first three are related to Tracking and the last one to Learning. While the leading or vertical spacing between lines refers to the Leading.

To exemplify the above, we can mention that the letter “i” does not occupy the same space as the letter “m”. These types of characters are called provided fonts. In contrast, fixed or monospaced fonts are those that occupy the same space, such as Lucida Sans Typewriter and Courier New.

What is text spacing and how is it modified?

It corresponds to the spacing measured in lines or points. That is the separation between two or more lines according to the number of spaces chosen. When a text is said to be double spaced, it means that its separation is equal to two blank lines. To modify the space between lines, some simple steps must be followed, such as the following:

• Select the option Spacing between lines and paragraphs in the Word menu.
• Click Leading Options.
• In the Leading box, select between single, 1.5 lines, double, minimum, etc…. The value of your preference is placed in the Inbox.

Double Space In Word What is paragraph spacing and how is it modified?

When pressing the Enter key on the keyboard, the cursor will move one line below the starting point. This action will automatically make a space between one paragraph and another. To adjust the space between two or more paragraphs of a text, proceed as follows:

• Choose the paragraph for which you want to change the spacing.

• In the Word drop-down menu, Home tab, select the Line and Paragraph Spacing button.

• Then click Leading Options.

• When the menu is displayed, you will find the option Double Space In Word. Select the values ​​you want before and after the paragraph.

• Next, the spacing between paragraphs will be changed.