Formatting Issues

How to Remove Extra Space Between Paragraphs in Word 365

Partner Editor Oct 1, 2026 874 views

Question details

The user needs to eliminate unwanted vertical space appearing between paragraphs, or clarify how to reduce wide horizontal gaps between individual words in a Word 365 document.

How to Remove Extra Space Between Paragraphs in Word 365

Product: Microsoft Word 365
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Editing and formatting a document where the text layout appears disconnected due to excessive blank spaces.
Observed behavior: Unexpected large vertical gaps are present between paragraphs when pressing Enter, or horizontal spaces between words are unusually wide.

Before you start

Highlight the specific text you want to fix, or press Ctrl+A to select the entire document, so that your spacing adjustments are applied uniformly.

Solution 1Recommended

Adjust Vertical Paragraph Spacing Settings

The most common cause of extra vertical space is the default 'Before' and 'After' paragraph spacing settings. Resetting these will tighten your document layout.

Word 365 often adds a default 8pt space after each paragraph. You can manually reduce this space via the Paragraph dialog box to make your text flow more naturally.

Select the text

Highlight the paragraphs containing the unwanted extra space.

Open Paragraph Settings

Right-click the selected text and choose 'Paragraph' from the context menu, or click the small launcher arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

Adjust Before and After Spacing

In the 'Indents and Spacing' tab, find the 'Spacing' section. Change the 'Before' and 'After' values to '0 pt'.

Disable space between similar styles

Check the box that says 'Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style' and click 'OK'.

Adjust Vertical Paragraph Spacing Settings

Pro Tip: If you want this to be the default behavior for all future documents, click 'Set as Default' at the bottom of the Paragraph dialog box.

Solution 2

Modify Line Spacing Options

If adjusting the before and after spacing doesn't fix the issue, the document might be using double or multiple line spacing.

Solution 3

Reduce Horizontal Space Between Words

If your problem is unusually wide gaps between individual words rather than paragraphs, it is likely caused by text justification or character spacing settings.

Easily Adjust Paragraph Spacing with WPS Writer

WPS Writer offers a highly intuitive interface to manage document formatting. You can easily remove unwanted paragraph spaces, adjust line heights, and perfect your document layout using this powerful Word alternative.

1. Open your document in WPS: Launch WPS Writer and open the document that requires formatting.
2. Select the text: Highlight the paragraphs where you want to remove the extra spacing.
3. Open Paragraph Settings: Right-click the selected text and choose 'Paragraph' from the context menu.
4. Adjust spacing to zero: Under the 'Indents and Spacing' tab, set both 'Spacing Before' and 'Spacing After' to 0 pt, then click 'OK'.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) documents and formatting.Intuitive Paragraph layout tools for quick space removal.Free and lightweight alternative to Word 365.Professional templates available to ensure perfect document structures.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is there a huge gap when I press Enter in Word 365?

By default, Word 365 adds extra space after a paragraph whenever you press Enter. This is controlled by the 'Spacing After' setting in the Paragraph formatting options. You can fix it by changing this setting to 0 pt.

How do I do a soft return without adding a new paragraph?

If you want to move to the next line without triggering the paragraph spacing rules, press Shift + Enter. This creates a line break (soft return) instead of a new paragraph, keeping the lines grouped closely together.

How do I stop Word from automatically adding space between paragraphs?

To prevent this globally, open the Paragraph dialog box, set the 'Before' and 'After' spacing to 0 pt, check 'Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style', and then click 'Set as Default'. Choose 'All documents based on the Normal template'.

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