line spacing in word

[bstratis]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: intel

I have been using Microsoft Word 2008 for a bit now, and I have never been able to figure out the line spacing. This is not about the additional spacing after paragraphs--this is line spacing within the paragraph. When I have it set to single spacing, it's the equivalent of 1.5 spacing and when I have it set to double spacing, it's the equivalent of 2.5 spacing. Any suggestions??? It's driving me crazy!!

 

[CyberTaz]

This is something I'd have to see in order to determine what's going on
Is it possible to email me a .docx that displays this behavior? If so, just
remove the word "only" and the dot between "com" and "cast".

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[bstratis]

I would love to send you a file and get your input, but I'm confused about the e-mail address! Maybe I'm more tired than I think right now, but I don't seem to see it?

 

[CyberTaz]

My Bad - Didn't notice you're coming through the Mactopia interface:-}

Pick this apart the same way:

(e-mail address removed)

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

In Word, "Single" line spacing is "120 per cent of the font height", where
"Font height" is the X-height of "The tallest character in that font" (i.e.
Allowing for accents etc...)

So a 12 point character somewhere in a line of 10 point type will set the
line height to 'about' 15 points, depending on the fonts involved.

"Double" spacing adds another multiple, so "30 points".

It works, once you get used to it You can specify "exactly" or "at
least". If you set "Exactly" you will get what you set, and if you do not
guess the height of your font correctly, you will get letters chopped off.

Worse: If you set a line-height of "15 points" "Exactly" then insert a
picture in the paragraph, you will see only 15 points of the picture height.

If you set a line height of "At Least" 15 points, you will get a "minimum"
of 15 points, but still enable Word to expand the line if it needs to
accommodate a picture.

Hope this helps

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: intel

I have been using Microsoft Word 2008 for a bit now, and I have never been
able to figure out the line spacing. This is not about the additional spacing
after paragraphs--this is line spacing within the paragraph. When I have it
set to single spacing, it's the equivalent of 1.5 spacing and when I have it
set to double spacing, it's the equivalent of 2.5 spacing. Any suggestions???
It's driving me crazy!!

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[bstratis]

Hi John, that makes sense to me--thanks for the information. Is there anyway to change this so that it is set to a true single space and double space?

Also, if I am typing in Times New Roman size 12 font, true single spacing would be set to "Exactly 12 point". Is double spacing set to "Exactly 24 point"?

(Sorry I have to write lab reports for a college course and they are incredibly picky about this!)

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi B_____-

I got your doc & all appears to be in order What John explained is
certainly not new to Word 2008. That is a "hardy perennial" that's been
followed since scalable fonts were introduced to the personal computer.

I don't know what you mean about a "true" double/single space. The
algorithms that formulate line spacing are based on typesetting standards
and adjust proportionately based on font size. So the first thing most
people need to wrap their head around is that we *aren't* dealing with
typewriters anymore. "Line Spacing" - quite frankly - is a condescending
term coined & employed by typewriter mfrs because they didn't think the
"typical typist" would understand the concept of Leading. IOW, single line
spacing (leading) for 12 point type *is* 14.4 points. If it were exactly the
same as the font size descenders & ascenders would conflict with one another
& even where they didn't the text would be very difficult to read.

Although Word isn't renowned for its typographical accuracy it's pretty
close, so you can make adjustments quite easily... Do you have to do the
math? - Yes, if you don't want to accept the formulary built into the font
by its designer. But the math is relatively simple as John explained... The
general rule-of-thumb is that single line spacing amounts to 120% of the
font size, so 1.5 line spacing would be 180%, double spaced would be 240%.
Some fonts do include a little more/less than 120% as the basis for their
leading, but that's one reason why there are so many fonts whose characters
look very much the same - it's the character spacing & leading that make the
biggest difference in how the text appears.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

I think you will find that what the course means is "Set your line spacing
to what Microsoft Word calls "single spacing"". Or "what Microsoft Word
calls "double spacing".

You cannot run Times New Roman 12 points on a 12-point line height. Trust
me on this (Try it: set some text to 12 on 12 and print it: it's nearly
unreadable...)

The closest you ca get it is 12 on 14, and Microsoft Word sets TNR at 12 on
14

Your line height should ALWAYS be "120 per cent of the font height" for
'compact' fonts such as Times New Roman. Some decorative fonts need a bit
more.

And no: there is no way to change Word's defaults, but you can change the
styles in the templates that you use so that whenever YOU create a document,
it will be set the way YOU like it.

Use Format>Style>Modify to set the properties of each style that you use to
the measures you would like. Then check the "Add to Template" checkbox on
the way out to force Word to write your changes back to the template you are
using. After that, each new document you start from that template will have
those measurements pre-set.

A "style" is simply a named collection of formatting properties. Styles
give you the opportunity to set all of your formatting measurements once in
your life, then use them for the rest of your life. And of course, you can
change them instantly if you change your mind.

Hint: Investigate the built-in styles. There is a large number of them,
and most of them are pretty close to what you will end up using. You will
save a LOT of time

Hope this helps

Hi John, that makes sense to me--thanks for the information. Is there anyway
to change this so that it is set to a true single space and double space?

Also, if I am typing in Times New Roman size 12 font, true single spacing
would be set to "Exactly 12 point". Is double spacing set to "Exactly 24
point"?

(Sorry I have to write lab reports for a college course and they are
incredibly picky about this!)

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[bstratis]

Bob and John,

Thanks for your help--I really appreciate it. I'm still very confused. I took the same text from Word 2008, pasted it into TextEdit and then copied that and pasted it into Word 2004 (pasting directly from Word 2008 to 2004 never worked--Word 2004 froze and had to be forced quit). When I put it in the same font, line spacing, and margins (Times New Roman 12, double spaced, 1 inch margins on all sides), it is significantly shorter in Word 2004. It went from 3 1/2 pages in Word 2008 to 2 1/2 in Word 2004. When you print the two things, the lines are much further apart in the document from Word 2008. I guess I've temporarily solved the problem by just using Word 2004, but I don't know why that's happening in Word 2008!

 

[John McGhie]

What STYLE are you using to format your text?

And if you didn't use a style, please do not assume there is none
Nature abhors a vacuum, and Word can't have a paragraph without a style.

In Word 2004, the default formatting for the Normal style is 0 points space
above and below.

In Word 2008, the default formatting includes 10 pts space below (as it
should!). This will be added to your double line spacing at the end of each
paragraph.

This will give the appearance of having a substantially greater line spacing
than you intended if each of your paragraphs is only one line long.

If you are doing long documents, it really is time you looked up "Styles" in
the Help. If you continue applying the formatting directly, you will waste
half your life formatting documents when you could be passing exams

Styles are much, much quicker, particularly when your documents have to
conform to formatting specifications. Take a few minutes to set them up
now, and you will never have to bother about formatting again

Cheers

Bob and John,

Thanks for your help--I really appreciate it. I'm still very confused. I took
the same text from Word 2008, pasted it into TextEdit and then copied that and
pasted it into Word 2004 (pasting directly from Word 2008 to 2004 never
worked--Word 2004 froze and had to be forced quit). When I put it in the same
font, line spacing, and margins (Times New Roman 12, double spaced, 1 inch
margins on all sides), it is significantly shorter in Word 2004. It went from
3 1/2 pages in Word 2008 to 2 1/2 in Word 2004. When you print the two things,
the lines are much further apart in the document from Word 2008. I guess I've
temporarily solved the problem by just using Word 2004, but I don't know why
that's happening in Word 2008!

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[tashflava]

Hi anyone that can help,

I am having issues with my MS Word 2004.
The problem is when I hit enter to go to a new paragraph, the cursor goes all the way down to the bottom of the page.
If anyone has any solutions I will be extrememly grateful..
Thanks
Tash

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Hi Tash,

Go to Format | Document, and change "Vertical Alignment" to "Top".

Tip--it's better to post a new question than to add your question to a
thread that is only vaguely related.