Letter Spacing in Word: How to Adjust Tracking and Kerning for Logo Text

To change letter spacing in Microsoft Word, select the text, open the Font dialog, go to the Advanced tab, and set Spacing to Expanded or Condensed with a value in points. That control adjusts tracking, which is the uniform space added or removed between every character in a selection. Word can also apply kerning, which adjusts the space between specific letter pairs based on data built into the font. These settings work well for mockups, documents and wordmark drafts. A finished vector logo, though, normally needs its lettering fixed as paths in a vector editor.

Key terms before you start

Tracking: a uniform change to the spacing across a whole selection of characters. Word labels this Spacing, with the options Normal, Expanded and Condensed.
Kerning: spacing adjustments between particular letter pairs, such as A and V, taken from pair data inside the font file. In Word it is a checkbox that applies the font's built-in kerning. It does not let you nudge individual pairs by hand.
Point (pt): the typographic unit Word uses for spacing values.
Outlined text: lettering converted from live, font-dependent text into vector paths, so it renders the same way without the font installed.

Change letter spacing in Microsoft Word for Windows

1. Select the word, line or characters you want to adjust.
2. On the Home tab, click the small launcher arrow in the corner of the Font group, or press Ctrl+D, to open the Font dialog.
3. Open the Advanced tab.
4. Under Character Spacing, set Spacing to Expanded to open the letters up or Condensed to tighten them.
5. Enter a value in the By box. The value is in points.
6. Check the Preview area, then click OK.

Change letter spacing in Word for Mac

1. Select the text.
2. Choose Format > Font from the menu bar, or press Command+D.
3. Open the Advanced tab.
4. Under Character Spacing, choose Expanded or Condensed from the Spacing menu and enter a point value in the By field.
5. Review the Preview and click OK.

Menu names and layouts can vary slightly between Word versions and subscription updates. If the dialog looks different, look for the Advanced tab inside the Font dialog. Word for the web may not offer the full set of Advanced character spacing options, so use the desktop app when you need precise control.

Turn on font kerning

In the same Advanced tab, select the Kerning for fonts checkbox and enter a size threshold in the Points and above box. Kerning then applies only to text at or above that size. For logo-style lettering, which is usually set large, turning kerning on lets the font's own pair adjustments take effect. How much this helps depends entirely on the kerning data the type designer included in the font.

Other settings in the Advanced tab

Setting | What it does | Use for logo lettering

Spacing (Expanded/Condensed) | Uniform tracking across the selection | Yes. This is the main control.

Kerning for fonts | Applies the font's built-in pair kerning above a chosen size | Usually yes, for display sizes.

Scale | Stretches or squeezes the glyph shapes horizontally | Avoid. It distorts the letterforms rather than spacing them.

Position | Raises or lowers characters relative to the baseline | Only for deliberate vertical offsets.

OpenType features (ligatures, number spacing, number forms, stylistic sets) | Activates alternate glyphs or behaviors, where the font supports them | Optional. Results depend on the font.

Letter spacing is not line or paragraph spacing

Searches for Microsoft Word text spacing often mix two different settings. Character spacing controls horizontal space between letters and lives in the Font dialog. Line and paragraph spacing control vertical space between lines and blocks of text. Those are set from the Line and Paragraph Spacing button on the Home tab or in the Paragraph dialog. If you change one, the other stays as it was.

Apply the same spacing consistently

To reuse a spacing setting, build it into a character or paragraph style rather than formatting each instance by hand. The Font dialog also has a button for making the current settings the default for the document or template. Use it only if you want every new piece of text in that template to share the spacing.

Verify the result

Select the adjusted text and reopen the Font dialog to confirm the Spacing mode, the By value and the kerning setting.
View the text at the size it will actually be used. Spacing that looks balanced at large sizes can look loose or crowded when small.
Check letter pairs with diagonal or round shapes, such as AV, To or oo. Uniform tracking cannot fix an uneven pair on its own.
If the document will be shared, confirm the recipient has the same font. Otherwise Word substitutes another font and the spacing changes.

Where Word's spacing stops being enough for logo artwork

Word is a reasonable place to test how a name looks with tighter or looser tracking. It is not a vector logo tool. Text in a Word file stays live and depends on the font being installed. Word also cannot hand-kern individual letter pairs, and it does not produce a standalone vector logo file. For final artwork, recreate the lettering in a vector editor, set the tracking and manual kerning there, and convert the text to outlines before delivery so the spacing is locked into the paths.

Exporting a Word document to PDF can embed fonts and may preserve the text as vectors. Even so, a PDF or any other file extension is not proof that the file contains only vector content, that the lettering is editable, or that the logo may be reused. Open the file in a vector editor to check what it actually contains, and confirm font licensing and logo usage rights separately.

Gaps in this guide

No source evidence was supplied for recommended tracking values, version-specific interface differences or font licensing terms, so this guide does not give specific spacing numbers. The right amount of tracking depends on the typeface, the size and the logo's design intent. Treat any value as a design decision to test visually, not a fixed requirement.