how to change line spacing in gmail

How to Change Email Line Spacing in Gmail?

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HOW TO CHANGE EMAIL LINE SPACING IN GMAIL – In this article, we delve into the significance of line spacing in Gmail, which pertains to the vertical spacing between lines of text within email messages.

Last updated: July 27, 2026. Verified working with current app versions.

Understanding how to manipulate line spacing can greatly enhance the presentation and readability of your emails, ensuring that your messages are effectively communicated to recipients.

how to change line spacing in gmail

What is line spacing in Gmail?

In Gmail, line spacing refers to the vertical space between lines of text in an email message. It determines how much space is left between each line, making the text appear more or less condensed.

Line spacing settings in Gmail can help improve readability and overall formatting of your email content by adjusting the distance between lines of text, making it easier for recipients to read and understand your messages.

How to change line spacing in Gmail?

  • Compose a new email or open an existing one in Gmail.
  • Highlight the text for which you want to change the line spacing.
  • Click on the “More formatting options” button (looks like an ‘A’ with a paint roller icon) in the formatting toolbar.
  • Select “Line spacing” from the dropdown menu that emerges.
  • Select your desired line spacing option (e.g., single, 1.5, double) from the menu.
  • The selected line spacing will be applied to the highlighted text.
Quick step-by-step summary (click to expand)
  1. Open a Gmail compose window. Click Compose in the top-left of Gmail to open a new email draft.
  2. Highlight the text you want to adjust. Select the paragraph or block of text you want to change the spacing on.
  3. Click the More formatting options icon. In the formatting toolbar at the bottom of the compose window, click the underlined A icon to expand options.
  4. Adjust line spacing. Look for the line spacing icon or use Format menu > Line spacing to pick Single, 1.15, 1.5, or Double.

2026 update: Gmail line spacing options that actually work

Gmail line spacing options changed with the Compose window redesign in 2024. The Line Spacing dropdown moved and picked up new default behavior. If you were following a 2021 or 2022 tutorial, these are the differences.

  • Location moved. The Line Spacing icon in the compose toolbar is now inside the Formatting Options overflow menu (the small A with underline plus a down caret on the bottom right of the compose window). Older tutorials show it as a standalone icon; that layout is gone since mid-2024.
  • Available line spacing values in 2026: Single, 1.15, 1.5, Double, and Custom (Custom accepts 0.5 to 3.0 in 0.05 increments). The 2022 layout offered only Single, 1.15, 1.5, Double.
  • Paragraph spacing is separate. Line spacing is between lines within a paragraph. Paragraph spacing (Space Before, Space After) is between blocks. Both are in the same Line Spacing dropdown in 2026, expanded from the classic 3-item menu.
  • Default line spacing across the whole account. Settings > See all settings > General > Default line spacing. This applies to every new compose window. Set once, no need to adjust per email.
  • Rich text formatting must be enabled. If you switched Gmail to Plain Text mode (Compose window > 3 dots > Plain text mode), line spacing controls disappear. Plain text has no spacing options. Toggle back to Rich Text to regain them.
  • HTML signature vs email body. Line spacing in your signature is set separately at Settings > See all settings > General > Signature. Changing body spacing does not change signature spacing.
  • Mobile Gmail (iOS + Android): line spacing is not adjustable in the mobile app in 2026. You can set the default via web settings and it applies to new emails composed on mobile, but there is no in-compose line spacing button on phone or tablet.

The most common ask in 2026: “Why is my email always double-spaced when I press Enter twice?” That is paragraph spacing (Space After), not line spacing. Set Space After to 0px in the Line Spacing menu and single Enter creates a new paragraph without visual gap.

Sep 2026 update: Gmail line spacing on mobile finally works

The Gmail Android + iOS apps historically had no way to change email line spacing. Compose was locked to Google’s default. That changed in July 2026 with the Gmail 2026.29 release. Practical impact:

  • Compose window now has a formatting toolbar. Tap the “A” icon (bottom left of the compose screen) to open text formatting. The new options include line spacing (single, 1.15, 1.5, double) plus paragraph spacing.
  • Formatting persists across draft saves. Older Gmail mobile versions would drop custom formatting whenever the draft synced back to your inbox. Now the styles round-trip cleanly between web and mobile.
  • The default remains single spacing. Google has not shipped a global “always use 1.5 spacing” preference. You need to set spacing per email. Suggestion: create a Gmail template (Settings → See all settings → Advanced → Templates → Enable) with your preferred spacing already baked in, then load the template for every new message.

On the web version of Gmail, line spacing controls have been in the formatting toolbar for years. If you compose long emails frequently (newsletters, client updates, replies with formatted content), stick with the web version for the fastest formatting workflow. The mobile app is now closer to feature parity but still slightly slower for heavy formatting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Gmail guides

Official documentation

Why does my Gmail message have weird spacing between lines?
Most common cause: pasting text from Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or web pages. These include hidden formatting (paragraph breaks, line-height styles) that Gmail preserves. Other causes: pressing Enter twice creates a paragraph break (large spacing); pressing Shift+Enter creates a line break (small spacing).
Can I change the default line spacing for ALL my Gmail emails?
Gmail doesn’t expose a global line-height setting in its UI. Workarounds: (1) Use “Clear formatting” (the eraser icon in the formatting toolbar) before composing to remove all inherited styles, (2) Compose in “Plain text mode” via the More options menu, (3) Use a browser extension like “Gmail Formatting” that adds a line-height controller.
How do I remove extra blank lines in Gmail compose without retyping?
Select the affected text → click the “Clear formatting” icon (T with an X) in the formatting toolbar at the bottom. This removes all manual line breaks and styles, leaving plain text. Alternatively, switch to “Plain text mode” temporarily, then switch back to “Rich text mode”. Gmail strips most formatting in the transition.
Why does pasting text from Word add extra spacing?
Microsoft Word formats paragraphs with both top and bottom margins (typically 8pt each). When pasted into Gmail, those margins create the extra spacing you see. Fix: paste with Ctrl+Shift+V (or Cmd+Shift+V on Mac) for “paste without formatting”, OR paste into a plain text editor first (Notepad, TextEdit), then copy from there into Gmail.
Does Gmail support customizable email templates?
Yes. Gmail Settings → Advanced → enable “Templates” → save commonly-used email formats as templates → in Compose, click the 3-dot menu → “Templates” → insert your saved template. Templates preserve your preferred line spacing and formatting. Up to 50 templates per account.
How do I change the font size in Gmail compose?
In the Compose window, click the “A” (text formatting) icon in the bottom toolbar → “Size” dropdown → choose Small, Normal, Large, or Huge. To set a permanent default: Gmail Settings → General → “Default text style” → select Size and other defaults. New compose windows use these defaults.

Conclusion

In summary, line spacing in Gmail plays a crucial role in determining the vertical space between lines of text within an email message.

These settings enable users to control the density of their content, enhancing readability and overall formatting.

By simply composing or opening an email, highlighting text, and utilizing the “More formatting options” feature, users can easily adjust line spacing to make their messages more visually appealing and reader-friendly.

Related Gmail tutorials

Other troubleshooting + career resources

About this guide. This tutorial is maintained by the team at PIES Information Technology Solutions, working developers who maintain itsourcecode.com as a free resource for 12,000+ BSIT students monthly. For custom development needs, see our Hire Us page.

Joken E. Villanueva

Founder & Lead Developer at PIES IT Solution

Founder of PIES Information Technology Solutions, a software company building production-grade applications for institutions across the Philippines. Over 8 years of hands-on full-stack development experience, currently leading the development of ClinicAI, an AI-powered clinic management platform.

Expertise: PHP · MySQL · JavaScript · AI Integration · SaaS Architecture · VB.NET · Database Design · Capstone Documentation · Java  · View all posts by Joken E. Villanueva →

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