Why is it still Double Spacing?

Anonymous
2012-02-26T23:44:36+00:00

Original Title: WHY IT IS STILL DOUBLE SPACING?

I have been so ripped off.

 Give me word 2003 anyday.

 I paid for this. Then I had a nightmare getting it activated, it would not accept the key. But that was not what was the worst: It was getting to find help. I called the activation number, who transferred me to customer service, who had little girls who did not know what to do and wasted my time, only to transfer me back to the activation team and so on and so on for a good three hours one day.

 I was ready to scream. Just transfer me right to tech. The tech took care of that in less than five minutes.

Okay, so all should be okay, right?

 No IT IS NOT.

 An earlier tech made it so that my default in all my new word documents would be single space. I'm old school Nobody double spaces that's ridiciulous. I am writing a letter.

 Did it single space? No.

 I can't even figure out how to get it to stay in single space. I can find it, I can move it to single space. But the document won't do it.

 This is the worst expenditure of money. I want my money back. Uninstall this. I want to try that free software that is put out by some company I don't care but I'm happy to try it I'll be it is wonderful in its simplicity.

 Then I paid almost the same amount of money for outlook express. THAT was a mistake. I don't see how they send anythign or get anythign in fast, as when I click send/receive. .I just think it is sluggish, not nearly as clean, neat and breezy as the outlook that came with my old notebook.

 I have to end up calling tech suapport because I'm not going through any more irritation. This time I'm just asking to be transferred there. I have until April on this. I wish though I could go back in time and just NEVER buy it.

 I had upgraded once to IE 8 and kept getting this "corrupt file" message. It is like, theses folks make things deliberately  more complex so they can charge more money but in so doing, they are causing so many problems with their product people are getting disgusted.

 Again I go to start that letter and my train of thought is disrupted. Thanks a lot microsoft for wasting my time jacking me around on the phone when I should have received good service from the first call and been sent to tech, and thanks a lot for creating a chaotic software that is interrupting.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2012-02-27T10:13:07+00:00

I gather that in the midst of your ranting, you are saying that you have not found out how to set the line spacing to single and make it stay that way.

Here is how to do it:

  1. On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Paragraph section, click on the Line and Paragraph spacing button (to the left of the paint can) and select Line Spacing Options.
  2. In the Paragraph dialog that appears set the Line spacing to Single and set the Spacing Before or After to the value that you want for the spacing between paragraphs (I would recommend 12pts after).
  3. After making the above selections, click on the Set as Default button and when a dialog box appears that gives you the option to make the setting for "This document only?" or "All documents based on the Normal.dotm template?, select the latter and then click on OK.
  4. If when you quit Word you are asked if you want to save the Normal.dotm template, take the affirmative action.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask them here, but please make the question as clear as possible and refrain from the rants, as the people that help you here are your fellow Word users and not employees of Microsoft.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-02-16T09:08:49+00:00

    Perhaps the document I was working on was formatted that way and therefore the cause of my trouble. But I wouldn't chance on reformatting someone else's document!

    The problem with the format (1.5 spacing is fine), is that it treats every return like a new paragraph. But sometimes you just want to make a list (and I did not want a formatted 'bullet' list either).

    Oh well. After a lot of struggle I got it to work.

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-02-16T07:32:05+00:00

    Like every other version of Word, the latest version uses styles to format the document. The initial defaults are configured in the normal style.

    At some time in the past (I think it was 2007) Microsoft took a decision to change the format of the normal style to 1.15 line spacing with 10 points of space between paragraphs. The aim I am told was to make documents easier to read. Whatever the merits of that decision, some people didn't like it.

    You can't please all of the people all of the time, but as with all previous versions, you can modify the styles provided, or create your own, to produce any formatting you wish. The original default settings are only ever a problem for users who try to avoid using the styles that are the whole basis on which Word formats documents.

    As for your browser issue, I have no idea, I only ever use Firefox.

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  3. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2015-02-16T07:30:24+00:00

    How are you going about setting the spacing?

    Are you using a Windows computer or a Macintosh?

    If the latter, it would be best if you post to the following forum:

    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac/forum/macoffice2011-macword?sort=lastreplydate&dir=desc&tab=Threads&status=&mod=&modAge=&advFil=&postedAfter=&postedBefore=&threadType=All&tm=1424064072612

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-02-16T06:50:12+00:00

    My latest rant? This is the first time I've ever written here. I agree though that the above was a bold-faced rant. Sorry. I was very frustrated with this program and this company's IT.

    Anyway, now I am not ranting. I am offering to the community legitimate complaints. I'll repeat:

    Just two examples-

    1. People have been complaining to Microsoft for YEARS about the spacing problems in Word and they have done absolutely nothing to address the issue.
    2. I cannot even log into Microsoft Live except on Firefox, a browser I never use. There is no log in field in Safari, and I encounter 'unknown error' in Opera. Does MS even test this stuff?

    I had a deadline today with a proofreading project in which I had to write some headings that had to be single-spaced. No matter what I did (yes, I followed the direction given, as I have done a dozen times or more times over the last few years) and I finally got it (sort of, good enough for my purposes anyway) but it took a half hour of overtime to do it. Why can't MS just 'make it so' and give us whatever spacing we want, when we want? That's what I get with a simple text editor after all.

    I don't want to spend a portion of my life trying to get poorly designed and bloated software just to work. Now if you think of that as a rant, then so be it. I call it a legitimate complaint. I challenge all who read this to speak out more.

    The complainer, not the ranter...

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