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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →To change the spacing between letters in desktop Word, select the text, open the Font dialog from the Home tab, choose the Advanced tab, then set Spacing to Expanded or Condensed and enter a value in By. This applies the same spacing adjustment across the selected letters.
Change letter spacing in Word
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Select the text you want to adjust. To affect a whole document, press Ctrl+A on Windows before opening the dialog.
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Open the Home tab. In the Font group, select the small dialog box launcher in the group’s lower-right corner.
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In the Font dialog box, select Advanced.
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Under Spacing, choose Expanded to increase the gaps or Condensed to reduce them.
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Enter the adjustment in By, then select OK to apply it.
The setting affects the text selection, not every character in the document unless you selected the whole document. Microsoft does not prescribe one universal value; adjust it to suit the text and check the result at the intended display or print size. Microsoft documents this workflow for Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016. See Microsoft’s instructions for changing spaces between text in Word.
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Choose the right spacing control
Word’s Advanced tab includes several controls that can look similar but change text in different ways:
| Control | What it changes | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Expanded or Condensed | Changes the gaps uniformly between all selected letters. | Font dialog box > Advanced tab > Spacing |
| Kerning | Adjusts the gap between particular letter pairs. For example, the spacing between A and V may be reduced or increased. | Font dialog box > Advanced tab |
| Scale | Changes character width horizontally: above 100% stretches characters, and below 100% compresses them. | Font dialog box > Advanced tab |
| Line or paragraph spacing | Changes vertical space between lines or around paragraphs, rather than the gaps between letters. | Paragraph spacing controls |
Use Expanded or Condensed when you want a uniform change to letter gaps. Kerning is for pair-specific adjustments, while Scale changes the shape width. For vertical spacing, use Word’s paragraph controls instead.
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Which Word versions and platforms are covered?
Microsoft lists the desktop workflow for Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016. Its cited instructions do not establish the same steps for Word for the web, Mac, or mobile, so the exact availability and interface labels on those platforms are not confirmed here.
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