The quickest way to underline text is to press Ctrl+U and start typing. When you want to stop underlining, press Ctrl+U again.
You can also underline text and spaces in several other ways.
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Underline words and the spaces between them
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Select the text that you want to underline.
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On the Home tab, in the Font group, click Underline. Or press Ctrl+U.
Underline words, but not the spaces between them
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Select the text that you want to underline.
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On the Home tab, click the Font dialog box launcher.
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On the Font tab, in the Underline style drop-down list, click Words only.
Change the underline style and color
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Select the text that you want to underline.
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On the Home tab, click the Font dialog box launcher.
Tip: You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+D.
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Use the Underline style drop-down list to select an underline style.
Use the Underline color drop-down list to change the color of the line.
Use a double underline
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Select the text that you want to underline.
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On the Home tab, click the Font dialog box launcher.
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In the Underline style drop-down list, click double underline.
Underline blank spaces
You can underline blank spaces by pressing Shift+Hyphen (-), but it is difficult to line up the underlines — if you are creating a fill-in form, for example. Also, if the AutoFormat option for changing underscore characters into border lines is turned on, pressing Shift+Hyphen (-) three or more times in a row will result in a line that extends the width of the paragraph, which may not be what you want.
A better way to underline blank spaces for a printed document is to use the Tab key and apply the underline formatting to the tab characters.
When you want to create an underline in an online form, insert table cells with the bottom border turned on.
Underline blank spaces for a printed document
To underline blank spaces for a printed document, use the Tab key and apply the underline formatting to the tab characters.
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On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Show/Hide ¶ so that you can see the marks that indicate spaces and tab stops.
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Press the Tab key.
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Select the tab characters that you want to underline. A tab character looks like a small arrow.
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Do one of the following:
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Press Ctrl+U to apply a simple underline.
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To apply a different style of underline, on the Home tab, click the arrow next to Font to open the Font dialog box. On the Font tab, click Underline style to choose a different underline style.
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Underline blank spaces for an online document
To create an underline in an online document or form, insert a table cell with the bottom border turned on. This method ensures that when someone types on the line, the line stays in place.
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Click where you want to insert a blank underline.
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On the Insert tab, in the Tables group, click Table.
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Click the upper-left box to insert a 1x1 Table.
If you want to add introductory text, such as a name or Social Security Number, before the underline, insert a 2x1 Table.
To change the length of the line, move the pointer over the end of the table until it becomes a resize pointer
, and then move the arrow right or left to lengthen or shorten the line. -
Click in the table (or in the second table cell if you created a 2x1 table).
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The Table Tools appear. On the Design tab, click Borders > Borders and Shading.
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Under Setting, click None.
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Under Style, click the line type, color, and width that you want.
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In the diagram under Preview, click between the lower margin markers to add the bottom border. Make sure only the bottom line is displayed.
Note: If you prefer to view the table without the light gray gridlines that do not print, on the Layout tab, in the Table group, click View Gridlines.
If you used a 2x1 table to make room for introductory text, you can type the text before the line.
Remove underlining
To remove single underlining from words and spaces, select the underlined text and press Ctrl+U.
To remove other styles of underlining, press Ctrl+U twice.
