How To Fix Justified Text Spacing in Microsoft Word (FAST & EASY)
Learn how to fix justified text spacing in Microsoft Word. Discover simple solutions to remove large gaps caused by line breaks and condense font spacing.
Key Takeaways
If you have ever set your text alignment to "Justify" in Microsoft Word, you have likely encountered big, ugly gaps between your words. These weird spacing issues can make a professional document look messy and unpolished.
Fortunately, fixing justified text spacing in MS Word is fast and easy. Depending on what is causing your spacing issues, there are two main problems you might be facing. Below, you will learn exactly how to identify the cause and apply the right fix to make those strange spaces a thing of the past.
Problem 1: Large Spaces at the Ends of Paragraphs
When your text alignment is set to Justify, you might notice drastically large spaces specifically in the lines at the ends of your paragraphs.
The most common culprit for this issue is an invisible line break (also known as a soft return). When a line ends with a manual line break, created by pressing + , it confuses Microsoft Word. The software tries to stretch the line out to meet the margins, resulting in weird, over-extended spacing.
FAQ
Why does Microsoft Word add large gaps between words when text is justified?
These gaps are usually caused by an invisible manual line break, also known as a soft return. When a line ends with this break, Word's Justify alignment gets confused and tries to stretch the text all the way across the margins, resulting in large, unnatural spaces.
What is a soft return or manual line break?
A soft return is a formatting mark created when you press + . It drops your cursor to a new line without starting a completely new paragraph. However, it is the primary culprit behind over-extended text spacing when using justified alignment.
Some links may earn a commission. Thanks for your support.
Identify and delete manual line breaks causing gaps by clicking the Paragraph icon on the Home tab to reveal hidden formatting characters.
Permanently fix justified spacing gaps by going to File > Options > Advanced, scrolling to Layout Options, and checking "Don't expand character spaces on a line that ends with SHIFT + RETURN".
Condense spacing on any text by selecting it, opening Font settings (Ctrl + D on Windows, Cmd + D on Mac), and changing the Spacing dropdown to Condensed in the Advanced tab.
If you only have one or two spacing issues in your document, a manual fix is the fastest route.
Navigate to the Home tab in the Microsoft Word ribbon.
Click the Paragraph icon (it looks like a backwards "P", known as a pilcrow). This reveals all the hidden formatting and spacing characters in your document.
Look at the end of the problematic lines. If you see a new line character (which looks like a small arrow pointing down and to the left), this is your culprit.
Place your cursor at the end of the line, right after the text, and press Delete to remove the new line character.
This will instantly snap your text back to normal. However, if you have hundreds of these line breaks in a single document, doing this manually will take entirely too much time.
Permanent Fix for Paragraph End Spaces
To fix this issue across your entire document in bulk, and prevent it from happening in future documents, you can change a specific layout setting deep in Word's options.
Click File in the top left corner, then select Options at the very bottom.
In the Word Options menu, click on the Advanced tab.
Scroll all the way down to the bottom until you find the Layout Options section.
Locate the checkbox labeled: "Don't expand character spaces on a line that ends with SHIFT + RETURN".
Check the box to apply this fix to your current document.
(Optional) To permanently prevent this in the future, click the dropdown menu in this section, select "All new documents", and check the box again.
Click OK.
All of the weird, stretched spacing caused by line breaks will instantly disappear.
Problem 2: Fix Spacing on Any Text
Sometimes, your text spacing issues have nothing to do with justified alignment or line breaks. You might simply feel that the default spacing between words or letters is too far apart and needs to be closer together.
You can fix this by condensing your font spacing. This method works on any text.
How to Condense Text Spacing
Select the text that you want to adjust.
Open the Font settings menu. You can do this by right-clicking the selected text and choosing Font, or by using a keyboard shortcut:
Operating System
Keyboard Shortcut to Open Font Settings
Windows
Ctrl + D
Mac
Cmd + D
In the Font dialog box, click on the Advanced tab.
Next to Spacing, click the dropdown menu and change it from Normal to Condensed.
Adjust the point amount in the By: field next to it. For a subtle adjustment, try setting it to 0.5 pt.
Click OK.
Your words will now be crunched down and moved much closer together. You can always highlight the text, return to the Advanced Font menu, and play around with the point decimal to fine-tune the spacing until it looks perfectly balanced.
Keep Learning
By using the hidden paragraph symbols to find line breaks, tweaking your advanced layout options, and adjusting your font spacing, you now have complete control over how your text renders in Microsoft Word.
How do I reveal hidden formatting symbols like the new line character?
Navigate to the Home tab in the Microsoft Word ribbon and click the Paragraph icon (the pilcrow symbol that looks like a backwards P). This reveals hidden formatting data, allowing you to quickly spot and delete the problematic manual line breaks that look like small curved arrows.
How can I apply the layout spacing fix to all new Word documents?
To automatically prevent paragraph end spacing issues in future files, go to File, select Options, and click the Advanced tab. Scroll down to Layout Options, check "Don't expand character spaces on a line that ends with SHIFT + RETURN", and then select "All new documents" from the dropdown menu before clicking OK.
What is the keyboard shortcut to open the Font settings menu?
If you want to quickly condense your text spacing without digging through the ribbon menus, you can highlight your target text and press Ctrl + D on Windows or Cmd + D on a Mac to open the Font settings dialog box.
Where can I find more Microsoft Word tutorials?
If you are ready to continue improving your document formatting skills and fix other common MS Word problems, you can check out this recommended video guide: Watch next tutorial.
