A Microsoft Word update finally puts an end to the ongoing debate about whether you should put 1 or 2 spaces after a period

• Microsoft Word will begin flagging two spaces after a period as an error, a long-running debate that's been met with both excitement and criticism.
• The company recently started testing the change in the desktop version of Word.
• Those who prefer typing two spaces instead of one will be able to adjust Word's preferences accordingly.
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Microsoft is putting its foot down in the age-old debate about whether it's correct to put one or two spaces after a period.

Microsoft Word's Editor function is getting a new feature that flags two spaces after a period as an error, according to The Verge. The company recently started testing this change in the desktop version of Word, as some Twitter users have noticed in recent days.

The one versus two-space debate has been raging on for years, probably for about as long as we've been typing on modern computers. A study from of Skidmore College in 2018 even sought to answer the question, with the results finding that two spaces were in fact better.

As you might expect, the change in Microsoft Word created quite the stir on Twitter. Some found the update frustrating, while others viewed it as much-needed validation.

—David Galin (@db_galin) April 23, 2020

—kel (@keljayy) April 24, 2020

—Dave Beasing (@DaveBeasing) April 18, 2020

—Kanon Clifford (@KanonClifford) April 20, 2020

—Tyconnderoga (@TylerConn14) April 23, 2020

—Stuart Goosey (@stuart_goosey) April 22, 2020

If you're still advocating for two spaces instead of one, you'll be able to change this setting, as Lifehacker notes. There's a "Writing Style" in Microsoft Word's grammar settings that enables you to tell the program not to check for spaces after periods at all, or set it to "two space."

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