3 Ways to Underline Text in Microsoft Word

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Underline Text and the Spaces Between

The default setting in Microsoft Word allows you to underline both text and spaces. Here’s how to do so:

Step 1:Launch theMicrosoft Word app.

Step 2:Select thetextyou want to underline on the Word canvas.

Step 3:On the Word Ribbon, click theUnderlineicon. Alternatively, press theControl+Ukeyboard shortcut on Windows orCommand+Uon Mac to underline the selected text and any space.

You can remove the underline following the same steps as above or by tapping the Control + U keyboard shortcut.

Underline Text Without the Spaces Between

If you just want to underline the text in your Word document and not the accompanying space, here’s how to do so:

Step 1:LaunchMicrosoft Word.

Step 2:Select thetextyou want to underline on the Word canvas, including the spaces.

Step 3:Right-click on theWord canvas> selectFontfrom the menu to launch the Font dialog box.

Step 4:In the Font dialog box, click thedrop-down menubeneath the Underline style group.

Step 5:From the Underline style menu, selectWordsonly. The Preview pane of the Font dialog box will show you a preview of what this looks like.

Step 6:ClickOKto save your changes.

Underline Blank Spaces Before Typing

With certain documents, such as forms, blank spaces are typically left for individuals to fill. You can use an underline to indicate the fields where form responses should be written. Here’s how to do so:

Using the Keyboard Shortcut

The hyphen key on your keyboard can be used to underline blank spaces. Here’s how to do so:

Step 1:LaunchMicrosoft Word.

Step 2:On the Word canvas, place yourcursorin the blank space you want to underline.

Step 3:On your keyboard, hold down theShiftkey and continuously tap theHyphenkey (-) until you get the desired length of underline.

Using the Tab Key

You can also underline the blank spaces in your Word document using tab stops. Here’s how to do so:

Step 1:Launch Word.

Step 2:On the Word canvas, place yourcursorin the blank space you want to underline.

Step 3:Tap theTabkey on your keyboard till it reaches your desired length (by default, the tab stops and moves 0.5 inches to the right at every tap).

Step 4:Using your mouse, select thetab stopsyou inserted by dragging the cursor through them.

Step 5:To draw an underline, click theUnderlinebutton on the ribbon or tap theControl+Ukeyboard shortcut on Windows orCommand+Uon Mac.

Using a Table

Another way to underline blank spaces in Word is by inserting a table and adjusting the borders. Here’s how to do so:

Step 1:LaunchWord.

Step 2:On the Word canvas, place yourcursorin the blank space you want to underline.

Step 3:On the Word Ribbon, click theInserttab.

Step 4:Click theTable drop-down.

Step 5:Select the1x1Table. The table should stretch to the width of your document.

Step 6:Right-click on theTableand selectTable Properties.

Step 7:Go to theTabletab > selectBorders and Shadingat the bottom.

Step 8:In the Borders and Shading dialog box, click the grids in thePreviewto remove the top and side borders. Only the bottom border should remain.

Step 9:ClickOKto save your changes. You should see only a single line left underlining your blank space.

Once done, start typing above the underline. If you have issues typing, follow the steps in ourextensive guideto fix it.

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Last updated on 08 August, 2024

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