How to Change Letter Spacing in Word: 3 Easy Steps

The fastest way to change letter spacing in Word is from the Font dialog — select your text, open Font Settings → Advanced, then choose Expanded to stretch the letters apart or Condensed to pull them closer together. The whole adjustment takes about ten seconds and works on a single word, a heading, or the entire document.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to expand letter spacing for headings, condense it to fit text into a tight layout, set the exact spacing value in points, and fix the most common spacing mistakes that make documents look uneven or unreadable.

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What Is Letter Spacing in Word?

Letter spacing — Microsoft Word calls it character spacing in the Font dialog — controls the horizontal distance between individual characters. It is different from line spacing, which controls the vertical distance between rows of text. Letter spacing in Word has three settings:

• Normal — the default font kerning, no adjustment applied
• Expanded — adds extra space between every character, measured in points
• Condensed — removes space between every character, also measured in points

A 0.5 pt to 1 pt change is usually invisible at body-text size but transforms the look of headings, covers, and titles. For vertical spacing adjustments instead, see the guide on how to change line spacing in Microsoft Word.

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How to Change Letter Spacing in Word: Step-by-Step

The full workflow has three stages: expand the spacing to stretch text, condense it to tighten text, then set an exact point value for precision work. Each method below covers one stage.

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Method 1: How to Change Letter Spacing in Word Using Expanded

Expanded spacing pushes characters apart and is the right choice for headings, titles, and any text you want to feel airy or premium.

1. Select the text you want to modify — click and drag for a single word or heading, or press Ctrl + A to select the entire document

2. Open the Home tab and click the small arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Font group to open the Font dialog

3. Click the Advanced tab in the Font dialog
4. Under Character Spacing, set Spacing to Expanded
5. Set the By value (start with 1 pt for a subtle effect, 2-3 pt for headings)
6. Click OK

👉 The selected text spreads out — each character now sits the chosen distance further from its neighbour. The effect is most visible on uppercase headings.

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Method 2: How to Change Letter Spacing in Word Using Condensed

Condensed spacing pulls characters closer together. Use it to fit a long heading onto a single line, tighten a CV name, or fix awkward gaps in a tracked-out font.

1. Select the text you want to condense
2. Open the Font dialog from Home → Font (small arrow)
3. Switch to the Advanced tab
4. Under Character Spacing, set Spacing to Condensed
5. Set the By value to 0.3 pt for body text or up to 1 pt for headings
6. Click OK

👉 The text becomes more compact. Don’t condense by more than 1 pt on body text — readability falls off sharply past that point.

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Method 3: How to Change Letter Spacing in Word with an Exact Point Value

The By field accepts decimal values from 0.1 pt upwards, giving you precision control for brand work, certificates, and design-led documents.

1. Select your text and open the Font dialog → Advanced tab
2. Choose Expanded or Condensed from the Spacing dropdown
3. Click directly in the By field and type the exact value (for example, 0.7 for a fine adjustment)
4. Watch the Preview pane at the bottom of the dialog to judge the effect before committing
5. Click OK

👉 Recommended starting values: 0.5 pt expanded for body text, 1-2 pt expanded for headings, 0.3 pt condensed to subtly shorten a runaway title, 3-5 pt expanded for the “tracked out” magazine-cover look.

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Which Method Should You Use?

Method	Best For	Effort
Expanded (1-2 pt)	Headings, titles, covers, premium-feel branding	Low
Condensed (0.3-1 pt)	Fitting long titles on one line, tightening CV names, compact tables	Low
Exact By value	Brand guidelines, certificates, fine typography work	Medium

For everyday documents, Method 1 covers the look you actually want — stretched headings on top of normal body text. Use Method 2 only when you have a real space constraint, and Method 3 when matching brand specs.

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Common Problems When Changing Letter Spacing in Word

The spacing applied to the whole document instead of the selection

You opened the Font dialog with nothing selected, or with the cursor placed but no text highlighted. Press Ctrl + Z to undo, click and drag to select only the text you want to change, then reopen the Font dialog.

The text looks uneven or jumpy

Different paragraphs have different spacing values. Select the whole section, open the Font dialog, and set Spacing back to Normal to reset, then reapply your chosen value uniformly across the section.

Condensed text is hard to read

You’ve pulled the spacing in too far. Body text shouldn’t be condensed by more than 0.5 pt, and headings shouldn’t go past 1 pt. Open the Font dialog and reduce the By value, or switch back to Normal and try a smaller adjustment.

Letter spacing resets when I change the font

Changing the font through a style or theme can reset character spacing. Apply the font first, then apply the letter spacing — and if you want spacing to persist across new documents, the guide on how to change the default font in Microsoft Word covers saving font and spacing settings as the default.

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Pro Tips for Better Character Spacing in Word

• Keep body text at Normal spacing — only adjust headings, titles, and short display lines, or readability suffers
• Pair expanded spacing with uppercase headings for a magazine-cover look — a 2 pt expansion on all-caps text is the classic editorial setup
• Watch the Preview pane at the bottom of the Font dialog rather than committing and undoing — it shows the change in real time
• Combine letter spacing with line spacing for the cleanest result on long documents — and the guide on how to change line spacing in Microsoft Word covers the vertical side of the same job

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FAQs

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Conclusion

Once you know how to change letter spacing in Word, you have a fast way to fix uneven headings, fit long titles onto a single line, and add a polished, editorial feel to any document. Expanded for headings, Condensed for tight layouts, and an exact By value when brand specs demand precision — those three controls cover almost every spacing job you’ll meet.

Keep body text at Normal spacing, push headings 1-2 pt Expanded, and always preview before printing. If you are designing the rest of the document layout at the same time, the guide on how to align text in Microsoft Word is the natural next step.

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Related Tutorials

• How to Change Line Spacing in Microsoft Word
• How to Change the Default Font in Microsoft Word
• How to Align Text in Microsoft Word