SharePoint Document Issues

How to Reduce Extra Spacing in SharePoint Multiple-Lines-of-Text Fields

Maira Mehtab Sep 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to reduce excessive vertical spacing that is automatically added between separate sentences or paragraphs in a SharePoint multiple-lines-of-text column, without having to manually clear formatting each time.

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Editing or viewing data in a SharePoint List where the multiple-lines-of-text field contains large visual gaps between lines of text.
Observed behavior: SharePoint automatically injects excessive vertical paragraph spacing between lines in a multiple-lines-of-text field.

Before you start

Verify whether the extra spacing is due to SharePoint's automatic paragraph formatting or if users are accidentally inserting manual extra line breaks when typing.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable Enhanced Rich Text in Column Settings

Turning off enhanced rich text removes the default HTML paragraph spacing injected by the SharePoint editor.

When Enhanced Rich Text is enabled, SharePoint wraps text in HTML paragraph tags, which inherently carry extra top and bottom margins. Disabling this feature resolves the automatic spacing issue.

Access List Settings

Navigate to your SharePoint List, click on the 'Settings' gear icon in the top right corner, and select 'List settings'.

Edit the Column

Scroll down to the 'Columns' section and click on the name of the multiple-lines-of-text column that has the spacing issue.

Modify Text Formatting

Locate the 'Specify the type of text to allow' setting and change it to 'Plain text' or turn off 'Use enhanced rich text (Rich text with pictures, tables, and hyperlinks)'.

Save Changes

Click 'OK' at the bottom of the page to save. The text will now display as standard text without the excessive HTML paragraph spacing.

Formatting Loss Warning: Switching to Plain Text will remove existing rich formatting (like bolding, colors, or embedded images) from the data already entered in this column.

Solution 2

Adjust SharePoint List Row Height

If you must keep enhanced rich text enabled, you can visually compress the row height in the list view to minimize the appearance of large gaps.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does SharePoint add extra spaces between paragraphs?

When 'Enhanced rich text' is enabled, SharePoint uses an HTML editor. Pressing 'Enter' creates a new paragraph tag rather than a simple line break, which introduces the default HTML paragraph spacing margins.

How can I add a simple line break without triggering a new paragraph?

When typing in a rich text field, hold down the 'Shift' key and press 'Enter'. This inserts a soft return (line break) instead of a hard return (new paragraph), preventing the extra vertical spacing.

Will changing a column to Plain Text delete my existing data?

It will not delete the text itself, but it will strip out any rich text formatting you applied previously, such as bolding, hyperlinks, font colors, or inline images.

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