How to remove extra Double Spacing between words in Word

If you need to remove the extra white double-spaces between words or paragraphs in Microsoft Word, then follow the steps laid down in this post.

At times you might get documents created in different text editors which appear differently when opened in Microsoft Word. In some cases, the paragraphs could be separated by one or more blank lines, while in other cases, extra spaces could have been added. The reason the file created in one Word editor would open in another is that the file format is recognized by both. However, due to differences between two Word editors, the text might not appear the same on both.

Another reason many Word documents might contain double-spaces after every full stop is that doing so was the convention for typewriters. Those who practiced typing on a typewriter would be habituated to the double-space after full stops even while creating documents on a computer.

The method explained below can remove double-spaces from Microsoft Word files, however, it is known to work with many other similar Word editors.

How to remove extra Double Spacing between words in Word

You can use the Find and Replace option to replace extra double-spaces between words in Word editors. Follow these steps:

1. Click anywhere inside the document and press CTRL+F to open the Find field.
2. Depending on the Word editor, there would be an option to expand the window to a full options window.
3. In the Search for field, enter a double-space.
4. In the Replace field, enter a single-space.
5. Click on Replace all option to replace all double-spaces in the text.

This procedure can be repeated in case of more than two spaces. Eg. If your document has three spaces between a few words, simply repeat the same process while entering three spaces in the Find field.

Alternatively, you can use wildcard formulas for MS Word, however, that option will be particular to the desktop version of MS Word and not any other Word editor. Let’s check that option also.

Remove extra double spaces between words using the Wildcard formula in Microsoft Word

Here are the steps to remove extra spaces between words using the wildcard formula in MS Word:

1. Open a Word document where extra double spaces are present
2. Open the Find and Replace box
3. Switch to the Replace tab
4. In the Find What section, enter ( ){2,} that will help to find double spaces in the document
5. In the Replace with section, enter \1 that will replace double space with a single space
6. Click on the More>> button
7. Select the Use wildcards option
8. Press the Replace All button
9. Press the OK button.

That’s it!

Why is Word putting two spaces between words?

It can happen if the text alignment is set to Justify. If this is the case, then you can change the text alignment to the right, left, etc., and see if it helps. If it is happening randomly, then you should check if the spacebar key is working properly or not.

What is the function to remove extra spaces between words?

If you want to remove extra spaces between words in an Excel file, then you can use the TRIM function. For example, if cell A1 contains extra spaces between words, then use the =TRIM(A1) function in some other cell and it will remove the extra spaces. After that, you can copy the output in cell A1.

Or else, you can use the Find and Replace feature (pres Ctrl+F) of Excel where you can add double spaces or extra space in the Find what section, and a single space in Replace with section, and then hit the Replace All button. You need to first select cells before using the Find and Replace feature.

Hope it helps.