Keep with next or Page break before?

[Bruce]

I am beginning to see the advantages of avoiding manual
page breaks as much as is possible, particularly (it
seems) when viewing a document on different machines. I
am puzzled, though, as to when I should use "Keep with
next" and when I should use "Page break before" in
paragraph formatting. My understanding is that "Page
break before" would be used to ensure that something such
as the beginning of a section (in the document structure,
not a Word section break) always starts on a new page, no
matter how the document is edited, and that "Keep with
next" would be used to keep a section together. In my
situation, I removed a manual page break, then formatted
the paragraphs that jumped onto the page as "Keep with
next". Would there have been any difference had I just
formatted the top paragraph as "Page break before"?
A related question: Viewing nonprinting characters
shows "Page break before" differently (square bullet next
to paragraph) than a manually inserted page break, but is
there any other difference between the two methods? Also,
now that I know about paragraph formatting to control the
placement of elements of a document, it is difficult to
see where a manual page break would be used, although I
suppose if the situation comes up I will recognize it.
Perhaps I am making too much of these distinctions, but as
somebody whose job it is to manage documents for a
company, the more I know about taming Word the better.

 

[Margaret Aldis]

I think what you are say in your post sums it up really.

If what you want is to ensure the heading (say) stays with its following
paragraph, then 'keep with next' is the rule you want. That way if as you
edit the page flow changes, you won't be left with a forced page break half
way down a page.

If on the other hand you want, say, first level headings to always start a
new page, then 'page break before' is the rule that embodies that.

You will also sometimes need 'keep lines together' - for instance, if you
want to keep a list introduction with its first list item, and the first
list item breaks across the page, you will need keep with next on the list
introduction (to keep it with the first item) and 'keep lines together' on
the list item.

Alas there is no 'keep with before' <g>.

If you are removing manual page breaks or 'padding' blank paragraphs (both a
disaster when the text reflows), then it is a matter of deciding what rule
was being applied by the 'paginator' - asking yourself what you want to
happen if the paragraph falls near the top of the page usually answers that
one.

As you've noticed, manual page breaks aren't needed at all for normal flow
control, and tend to interfere with TOCs, cross references and so on. I very
rarely use them - maybe to reserve a full page for a large floating figure,
or at the end of a cover page in a template, when I might not know or care
what text paragraphs will appear at the top of the next page.

 

[Bruce]

Thanks for the prompt reply. Asking myself what I want to
have happen if the paragraph falls near the top of the
page is just the right way for me to think about it. I
take it that the paragraph formatting "Page break before"
option does not disrupt the document as the manual page
break does. I think "Keep with next" is going to be the
most useful for my purposes.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I would concur with all of this. I do use manual page breaks between, say,
the title page and the copyright page of a book. Also, using manual page
breaks (which are displayed in the document) shows some consideration for
those who may edit a document later: if they've never discovered the "Page
break before" setting, they can lose a lot of hair trying to figure out why
they can't get a paragraph to go back to the previous page!

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
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