widows and orphans

[Tom in Texas]

I'm finishing up a book, in Word 04, using a Mac (Snow Leopard). On
several pages I've got widows (or orphans, I forget which is which) on
the tops of pages...2-3 words, then a blank page. Trying to remember
how I used to reduce two pages to one. Don't find that command as an
option. How do you control widows and orphans?

Tom in Texas

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Tom;

Widow & Orphan control is turned on by default in Word documents, but even
if turned off that isn't what would account for the rest of the page being
blank. You most likely have Next Page Section Breaks or manual page breaks
which are forcing the following content onto the next page.

In order to determine how to correct the problem you first have to identify
what's causing it. Turn on the non-printing characters (¶) by either
clicking the button that bears that icon or by keying Command+8 to toggle
them on. It may also be helpful to switch to Normal View. Once you identify
the cause of the break you can click in the left margin adjacent to the
break indicator then press the delete key to remove it. However...

It's also possible that there are other influences, such as Page Break
Before paragraph formatting. That could be the result of a Style or direct
formatting, in which case the approach for removal might better be made from
a different direction. There could also be an effect on Headers & Footers,
so if you aren't sure how to proceed once the causes have been identified
reply here with what you've found for suggestions on how to do so.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Tom in Texas]

Thanks for that, Bob. Ok...so...is there no command reducing two pages
to one, or four pages to three? Why do I remember doing that in the
past?

Also, the space below the last line is space I want in there. These
unwanted widows (orphans?) are at the ends of chapters. A chapter will
be three pages long, and the final 3-4 words of the last line will be
on a single line at the top of a fourth page. I want it only three
pages long. Then I insert a page break and start a new chapter on the
next page.

There is a "One Page" command. Is that anything that will help?

Tom in Texas

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Tom:

Let me reinforce what Bob is saying, by saying it in a slightly different
way:

"Word's job is to paginate text, and it does so very well if we do not
interfere." These problems are often by-products of our attempts to
manually paginate the text with page and section-breaks.

The Widow is the bit at the bottom of the previous page, the Orphan is the
bit at the top of the next page. Word's algorithm should prevent splitting
the paragraph unless it can get two or more lines of text either side of the
page break.

I don't use "Widow/Orphan" any more. I set all styles to "Keep lines
together" which disables Widow/Orphan (which I then turn off). Paper is not
that expensive these days, and readers hate having to chase a paragraph from
the bottom of one page to the top of the next: it breaks their concentration
and interferes with their enjoyment/comprehension.

I also add "Keep with next" to the styles for all headings, so Word cannot
place a heading at the bottom of a page with no following text. I also use
ONLY "Space below" on the body-text styles. That prevents ragged top
margins.

Your "blank page" is probably being caused by the Section Break. If you
specify "Right Page" for the section break (as you would in a book, to start
chapters on the recto page) then if the previous chapter ends on a left page
(even one character) Word must insert a blank page to start the next chapter
on a Recto page.

When this goes wrong, it's best to use Find/Replace to remove all your
pagination overrides (page breaks, section breaks) then go look to see how
the document is paginating now.

Start from the front and work forward. Normally, if your styles are set up
correctly, you will find there is not much wrong with it. Occasionally, you
may have to apply "Keep with Next" to a few paragraphs to drag them to the
next page where you get an unfortunate turnover.

With correctly-set styles, I will be surprised if you have to do that more
than three times in a 200-page book. Using "Keep with next" instead of page
breaks is important: it means you never have to move them again, no matter
how the text changes. If you use hard page breaks, then every time the
document text changes, you have to move them all.

Hope this helps

I'm finishing up a book, in Word 04, using a Mac (Snow Leopard). On
several pages I've got widows (or orphans, I forget which is which) on
the tops of pages...2-3 words, then a blank page. Trying to remember
how I used to reduce two pages to one. Don't find that command as an
option. How do you control widows and orphans?

Tom in Texas

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Clive Huggan]

Hello Tom in Texas,

Orphans go out into the world (hence they are the single lines of text on
the new page); widows are left behind (hence single lines on the old page).

If you would like some further ideas on devising formatting that needs few
manual changes, see Appendix E of some notes on the way I use Word for the
Mac, titled "Bend Word to Your Will", which are available as a free download
from the Word MVPs' website
(http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. If you decide to
read more widely than the item I've referred to, it's important to read the
front end of the document -- especially pages 3 and 5 -- so you can select
some Word settings that will allow you to use the document effectively.]

Cheers,

Clive in Canberra
=======================

 

[Michel Bintener]

Perhaps you remember doing it in a different application. Microsoft
Excel has this feature.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Tom;

You've already received some excellent & comprehensive advice on controlling
the flow of your document, itself, so I won't cloud the issue with further
comment on that However, I think what you're 'remembering' is a feature
available in Print Preview by the name of "Shrink to Fit". That constraint
pertains only to the printing of the document & condenses it to require one
less sheet of paper when printed -- it does nothing to actually alter the
document structure in any way.

IOW, assume the document is 10 pages with the 'dead space' you describe on
the interior pages and the 10th page has only a small amount of text. Using
that feature will, indeed, cause it to print on 9 sheets of paper, but the
interior gapping will still occur. Also -- due to how the feature has to
work -- the flow of the printed document may well be adversely affected. The
document file, itself, will still be the same 10 page document.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Tom in Texas]

Thanks, guys, I really appreciate the comprehensive help.

TnT