# Word: conditional line breaks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 1, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388 "2012-10-01T14:13:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/1 "2012-10-01T14:13:21Z")
Ok I don’t know what these are called, so I can’t search for them. Let’s say I leave blank lines between paragraphs, like this. If one paragraph ends at the last line of a page, e.g. ------------------------------page break----------------- The next page will start with a blank line on top. Is there a way to avoid this? Or is it recommended to use paragraph spacing: after instead of putting 2 line breaks? Another question: is there a way to link cells in tables like linking text boxes, so text will flow from one cell to another? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/2 "2012-10-01T14:47:23Z")
😕 Doesn’t Word handle this automatically? (I rarely use Word, but my ancient version of WordPerfect certainly does.) That is to say if, as per normal, you tap return twice to end a paragraph (i.e., inserting two hard returns), if the first of these gets you to the end of a page, the second will be ignored, and the new paragraph will be started at the top of the next page (won’t it?). Are you tapping return more than twice at the end of a paragraph, to get bigger spacing between paragraphs? I guess if you do that you might cause the paragraph on the new page to be moved down as you describe. I think the solution to this is to change paragraph spacing options (which you can do in Word), so that you still only have to use two taps to get the spacing you want. Then it will will still know to ignore the second hard return as appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/3 "2012-10-01T15:07:45Z")
Is it supposed to? It doesn’t for me. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/4 "2012-10-01T15:13:54Z")
What version of Word? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/5 "2012-10-01T15:37:25Z")
There are several ways of handling this depending on what overall effect you want. Paragraph spacing is probably the best in this case. Home \> Paragraph (or select all, right-click, paragraph) brings up the paragraph box and controls the entire document. You can set the spacing after a paragraph to any number of points but a new page will always start the top. A somewhat different approach is also found in Paragraphs. Click the Line and Page Breaks tab and check the widow/orphan control box. > [@](#): > > The widow/orphan control in Microsoft Word is a feature that will prevent single lines of paragraphs from appearing on a separate page from the rest of the paragraph (a widow is the first line of a paragraph left by itself and an orphan is the last line left by itself). The widow/orphan control will automatically keep two lines together on a page, shifting them as necessary when you add or take text away from the document. Multiple line breaks are almost always the wrong solution because they don’t allow Word to automatically correct. Of course, there are times you don’t want Word and its blasted corrections doing things you didn’t intend. Deciding which way you want to go ahead of time is usually the best course. Still, you can always select a block of text and use Paragraph to change that single piece if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/6 "2012-10-01T15:38:51Z")
The proper way to format things in Word is to ask Word to format things. In this case, to leave some blank area between paragraphs, you’re supposed to use the “spacing before” and “spacing after” attributes for paragraphs. Not hit Return twice. When you press Return twice, you’re creating an empty paragraph. Word then considers that this empty paragraph is somehow important to you, and will make an effort to put it on a page somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/7 "2012-10-01T15:41:40Z")
What I want to find out is how to turn that double-spaced formatting _off_. It persists even when copied and pasted different places. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/8 "2012-10-01T16:31:51Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > What I want to find out is how to turn that double-spaced formatting _off_. It persists even when copied and pasted different places. After you copy but \*\*before \*\*you paste, click on the arrow under the Paste button on the ribbon. You get a number of options about formatting. You can also set defaults from a long list of options. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/9 "2012-10-01T16:49:29Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Another question: is there a way to link cells in tables like linking text boxes, so text will flow from one cell to another? Highlight the two cells, then right click and choose Merge Cells. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/10 "2012-10-01T21:56:59Z")
NEVER space paragraphs with hard returns; always use “space before” and/or “space after.” Have some pity on the person (possibly you) who will be editing the style of the text. Even back in the days of linotype machines, there have always been easy ways to do this. By now, it really shouldn’t be a problem. (And by the way, I hope you’re not indenting text by adding word spaces.) ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/11 "2012-10-02T01:28:32Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > What version of Word? 2007 and 2010. Actually, all versions of word. Yes, I thought paragraph spacing was the proper way to do it. But what if I DON’T want spacing between some paragraphs? Or am I supposed to stick to one style of spacing? ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/12 "2012-10-02T01:37:05Z")
You can check the box to instruct Word not to add space between paragraphs of the same type; if that doesn’t meet your needs, you can just individually format the paragraphs to add or remove the spaces. It just takes a couple of clicks for one paragraph; a double-click on the format painter and a double click next to each paragraph thereafter (or just select an entire stretch of text), or just repeat the step if your paragraphs have other formatting differences. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/13 "2012-10-02T01:43:30Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > That is to say if, as per normal, you tap return twice to end a paragraph (i.e., inserting two hard returns), if the first of these gets you to the end of a page, the second will be ignored, and the new paragraph will be started at the top of the next page (won’t it?). No. Word \*never \*ignores a hard return, which it refers to as a “paragraph mark” (in case you ever need to search for it). BTW it will only show you these if you turn on the option to see paragraph marks, which I always do. > [@panache45](#): > > NEVER space paragraphs with hard returns; always use “space before” and/or “space after.” …(And by the way, I hope you’re not indenting text by adding word spaces.) And also I hope you don’t use multiple consecutive tabs to align columns of text. :eek: > [@AaronX](#): > > But what if I DON’T want spacing between some paragraphs? Or am I supposed to stick to one style of spacing? This is a bit of a drawback. Under Paragraph options you can check “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style.” But you have to do that for the specific paragraphs where you don’t want space, or create a new style that doesn’t have the space and apply that to the specific paragraphs. The “read my mind” option is not yet available. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/14 "2012-10-02T04:30:48Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > And also I hope you don’t use multiple consecutive tabs to align columns of text. :eek: Wait, isn’t that the proper way to do it? Short of making an invisible table. Or do you mean I should adjust the tab stops and use only one tab? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/15 "2012-10-02T05:01:06Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > But what if I DON’T want spacing between some paragraphs? Or am I supposed to stick to one style of spacing? Use a “soft return” for no paragraph spacing, or just change it manually when you need to. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/16 "2012-10-02T07:15:52Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > What I want to find out is how to turn that double-spaced formatting _off_. It persists even when copied and pasted different places. Can’t you just click the No Spacing style on the home ribbon? ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/17 "2012-10-02T10:44:45Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Use a “soft return” for no paragraph spacing, or just change it manually when you need to. Thanks, I tried it and it seems to work. At least, it brings the last line of the previous paragraph across so the first line isn’t blank. What I did was: previous paragraph blah blah (no line breaks) ---------------page break------------- last line of previous paragraph blah (soft return) (hard return) next paragraph Between this and controlling paragraph spacing, I should be happy. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/18 "2012-10-02T11:00:58Z")
> [@AaronX](#): > > Wait, isn’t that the proper way to do it? Short of making an invisible table. Or do you mean I should adjust the tab stops and use only one tab? Adjust the tab stops. That way if you need to change alignment you can change them all at one time. Actually the table is quite good too and even easier to adjust. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/19 "2012-10-02T14:55:37Z")
Yeah I’m a big fan of invisible tables. SO much easier to add columns of text than using 2 section breaks. Only problem is with text overflowing, that’s why I asked if cells could be linked. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388/20 "2012-10-02T15:26:42Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Can’t you just click the No Spacing style on the home ribbon? Ribbon? 😕 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/word-conditional-line-breaks/636388.md?page=2)