How to Change Letter Spacing in Google Docs

The short answer

Google Docs has historically not included a built-in letter-spacing control like the character-spacing setting in desktop word processors. You can approximate wider spacing in three ways: insert narrow space characters between letters, change the font size of those space characters to fine-tune the gaps, or install a third-party add-on that adds spacing controls. Google updates its features over time, so first check the Format menu, under Text, in your own version for a native spacing option. For logo artwork, treat any of these methods as a draft. Final tracking should be set in a vector editor, where spacing is a precise, editable value.

Key terms: tracking, kerning and vector outlines

• Tracking (letter spacing): a uniform adjustment to the space between every character in a selected word or line. Logo wordmarks often use tracking to look more open or more compact.
• Kerning: an adjustment to the space between one specific pair of characters, such as A and V, to correct uneven gaps. Tracking applies across a whole selection; kerning applies to one pair.
• Vector outlines: letterforms converted from live, font-dependent text into path shapes made of points and curves. Outlined lettering keeps its exact spacing and shapes at any size, even on systems that do not have the original font installed.

Step 1: Check for a native spacing option

Select your text and open the Format menu. Look under Text, and in the paragraph and line-spacing options, for anything labeled letter spacing or character spacing. Note that line spacing and paragraph spacing control the vertical distance between lines, not the horizontal distance between letters. If your version has no letter-spacing option, use one of the workarounds below.

Step 2: Widen spacing with space characters

The simplest workaround is to insert a space between each pair of letters. A standard space is usually too wide for refined lettering, so narrower Unicode spaces give finer control. To use them, open the Insert menu, choose Special characters, and search for the names below. How wide each space appears depends on the font, and some fonts do not support every space character.

Thin space   U+2009
Hair space   U+200A
Six-per-em space   U+2006

Insert one character between every pair of letters, and use the same character throughout so the spacing stays even. After inserting the first one, you can copy and paste it instead of reopening the dialog each time.

Step 3: Fine-tune gaps by resizing the spaces

Docs lets you set a font size on any single character, including a space. Select only the space characters between your letters and lower or raise their font size. The letters stay the same size while the gaps shrink or grow. To edit all the gaps at once, hold Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) while selecting each space. Selecting the whole word instead would resize the letters too.

Alternative: a letter-spacing add-on

Open the Extensions menu, choose Add-ons, then Get add-ons, and search for letter spacing. Third-party add-ons differ in what they can do and in the account permissions they ask for, so read the permission request before installing. Add-ons usually work by inserting or resizing characters behind the scenes, so the result has the same limitations as the manual methods above.

Step 4: Verify the result

• Zoom in and compare the gaps between letters. Round letters such as O and straight letters such as H usually need different visual spacing, and uniform spaces will not correct this.
• Check Print preview, and export a PDF from the File menu, Download option. Confirm the spacing matches what you saw on screen.
• Open the document on another device or browser to make sure the space characters display correctly.
• Make sure any copy that must stay searchable or readable by screen readers is not spaced with inserted characters. Those characters split the word, so search, spell check and accessibility tools may no longer read it as one word.

What this means for logo artwork

Spacing built from inserted characters is fine for documents, mockups or explaining a spacing idea to a designer. It is not reliable logo artwork. The gaps depend on the font, the renderer and the export path. The text stays live type rather than paths. A PDF exported from Docs, though it uses the PDF format, does not by itself prove the lettering has been outlined or is clean and editable.

For a production-ready wordmark, rebuild the lettering in a vector editor that supports numeric tracking and pair kerning. Set the tracking, correct individual pairs by eye, then convert the text to outlines for final delivery. Keep a separate editable copy with live text in case you need changes later. Before reusing any existing logo lettering, also confirm the font license and your permission to use the mark. A file format says nothing about either.

Evidence gaps

No source-specific evidence was provided for this guide. Menu names and feature availability come from general knowledge of Google Docs and may differ in your version. No measured spacing values are given, because the right amount depends on the font, the size and the design intent.