Office for Mac Issues

How to Fix Word for Mac Adding Space After a New Line

Elise Williams Oct 9, 2026 868 views

Question details

Users experience an unwanted blank space or indent at the beginning of new lines or when pasting text in Word for Mac.

How to Fix Word for Mac Adding Space After a New Line or Pasted Text

Product: Word for Mac
Device & OS: Mac
Scenario: Typing a new line (pressing Return) or pasting text into a document.
Observed behavior: An apparent blank space appears at the start of the line, which is often a 0.08 cm left paragraph indent stored in the active text style rather than an actual space character.

Before you start

Enable nonprinting characters (the ¶ icon) in your document toolbar to confirm whether the gap is an actual space character (which shows as a dot) or a hidden paragraph indent.

Solution 1Recommended

Remove the Left Indent from the Custom Style

Modifying the style definition permanently resolves the issue, preventing the indent from reappearing every time you press Return.

Changing the indent on an individual paragraph is not sufficient. If the indent remains in the underlying style definition, Word for Mac will continue to apply it to new lines and bullet lists.

Open the Styles pane

Navigate to the Home tab and click on the 'Styles Pane' button to display all document styles.

Modify the affected style

Hover over the style currently applied to your text, click the drop-down arrow next to it, and select 'Modify Style'.

Access paragraph settings

In the Modify Style dialog box, click on the 'Format' drop-down menu in the bottom-left corner and choose 'Paragraph'.

Remove the left indent

Locate the 'Indentation' section, change the 'Left' indent value from 0.08 cm to 0 cm, and click 'OK' to save your changes.

Applies to Bullet Lists: This method also effectively resolves the issue if the unwanted 0.08 cm space appears when creating a new item in a bulleted or numbered list.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the space come back after I manually delete it?

If the space is caused by a style definition (like a 0.08 cm left indent), manually deleting it from a single paragraph won't change the underlying rule. The indent will automatically reappear the next time you press Return.

How can I tell if the gap is a real space or a paragraph indent?

Turn on nonprinting characters by clicking the ¶ (Show/Hide) icon in the Home ribbon. A real space will appear as a small dot, while a paragraph indent will show no character at all in the empty space.

Does pasting text from another document copy the unwanted space?

Yes, if you paste text with its original formatting, it might bring over custom styles containing the hidden left indent. You can avoid this by using the 'Paste and Match Formatting' or 'Keep Text Only' option.

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