Word offers two kinds of spacing: line spacing (= the spacing between lines within a paragraph) and paragraph spacing (= the spacing added before or after a paragraph as you press Enter).
If you are using Word 2007 or 2010, do the following to change the default spacing: Create a new, blank document, for example by pressing Ctrl+N. Click the Manage Styles button in the Styles pane (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S). On the Set Defaults tab, make the desired
changes. Before clicking OK, select "New documents based on this template."
Stefan Blom, Microsoft Word MVP
