Double space may refer to any of the following:

  1. In text formatting, a double space means sentences contain a full blank line (the equivalent of the full height of a line of text) between the rows of words. By default, most programs have single spacing enabled, a slight space between each line of text, similar to how this paragraph looks.

Most word processors allow for custom spacing, including the ability to automatically double space a document. For example, when a teacher wants an essay double spaced, you’ll need to adjust your spacing settings, so the text in the essay is double spaced. For programs that do not allow for spacing to be adjusted (e.g., text editors), you can press Enter twice to create a blank line between a line of text. However, realize that when you do this word wrapping doesn’t work, and the format may appear different when printed or viewed on a different sized window.

Example of double spacing

Here is an example of how a sentence with double spacing might look.

Example of single spacing

Here is an example of how a sentence with single spacing might look.

  1. DoubleSpace is a technology from Microsoft that compresses and uncompresses the data on a hard drive using FAT. By compressing the data on a hard drive, more data can be stored on a hard drive. Today, with bigger hard drives and newer file systems, DoubleSpace is no longer used.

Use Ctrl+1 to single space, Ctrl+2 to double space, or Ctrl+5 to set the spacing to 1.5 line spacing on any line, paragraph, or all highlighted text.

  • How to double space or change line spacing in Microsoft Word.

White space, Word processor, Word processor terms