3 Best Ways to Underline Text in Microsoft Word

Underlining text is one of the most straightforward actions you can perform in Microsoft Word. You can find this feature on the ribbon at the top of Word. Tapping the memorable keyboard shortcut is also sufficient to underline any text. You can either choose to underline text as you type or underline highlighted texts after typing them out.

Regardless of the option you choose, you can have text underlined in different forms. For example, you can choose to underline text and the space in between the text. Alternatively, you might just want to underline the text but not the space in between the text. This post explains how to underline the text and space in Word in different forms.

Underline Text and the Spaces Between in Microsoft Word

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

Step 1: Click the Start button on the taskbar to open the Start menu and type word to search for the app.

Step 2: From the results, click on the Microsoft Word app or document to open it.

Step 3: On the Word canvas, select the text you would like to underline.

Step 4: On the Word Ribbon, click the Underline icon. Alternatively, you can press the Control + U keyboard shortcut 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 in Microsoft Word

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: Click the Start button on the Taskbar to open the Start menu and type word to search for the app.

Step 2: From the results, click on the Microsoft Word app or document to open it.

Step 3: On the Word canvas, select the text you would like to underline including the spaces.

Step 4: Right-click on the Word canvas and select Font from the menu to launch the Font dialog box.

Step 5: In the Font dialog box, click the drop-down menu beneath the Underline style group.

Step 6: From the Underline style menu, select Words only. You will see a preview of what this looks like in the Preview pane of the Font dialog box.

Step 7: Click OK to save your changes.

Underline Blank Spaces in Microsoft Word

With certain documents such as forms, blank spaces are typically left for individuals to fill. If you would like to indicate the fields where form responses should be written, you can use an underline. 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: Click the Start button on the Taskbar and type word to search for the app.

Step 2: From the results, click on the Microsoft Word app or document to open it.

Step 3: On the Word canvas, place your cursor in the blank space you would like to underline.

Step 4: On your keyboard, hold down the Shift key and continuously tap the Hyphen key (-) 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: Click the Start button on the Taskbar to open the Start menu and type word to search for the app.

Step 2: From the results, click on the Microsoft Word app or document to open it.

Step 3: On the Word canvas, place your cursor in the blank space you would like to underline.

Step 4: Tap the Tab key on your keyboard till it reaches your desired length (by default tab stops move 0.5 inches to the right at every tap).

Step 5: Using your mouse, select the tab stops you inserted by dragging the cursor through them.

Step 6: Click the Underline button on the ribbon or tap the Control + U keyboard shortcut to draw the underline.

Using a Table

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

Step 1: Click the Start button on the Taskbar to open the Start menu and type word to search for the app.

Step 2: From the results, click on the Microsoft Word app or document to open it.

Step 3: On the Word canvas, place your cursor in the blank space you would like to underline.

Step 4: On the Word Ribbon, click the Insert tab.

Step 5: Click the Table drop-down.

Step 6: Select the 1 x 1 Table. The table should stretch to the width of your document.

Step 7: Right-click on the Table and select Table Properties.

Step 8: Click the Table tab and select the Borders and Shading button at the bottom of the tab.

Step 9: On the Borders and Shading dialog box, click the grids in the Preview area to remove the top and side borders. Only the bottom border should be left.

Step 10: Click OK to save your changes. You should see only a single line left underlining your blank space.

Double Underlining Text in Microsoft Word

Adding Underline to words or in empty spaces in a Word document can make the text or space stand out. Another way you can draw emphasis to a line of text in Microsoft Word is by double-underlining it. Double underlining text in Microsoft Word is quite straightforward with the right keyboard shortcut.