#WIDOW ORPHAN SETTINGS IN WORD MANUAL#

Widows and orphans don’t really apply to e-book formatting, because every device reads the e-book differently. This is how I manually control the orphans to keep the squared-off pages. This should shift that paragraph up one line, allowing the orphan to move to the previous page. I typically find a paragraph before that orphan occurs, and change the kerning for that paragraph to -10. This can be achieved in inDesign by using the tracking option. Side Note: There are some instances, where you’ll have a one-three word orphan that you just want pulled to the bottom of the previous page. However, if requested, I will format with no widows and orphans. It’s the style that is used in all of the books I’ve read, so that’s my default formatting method. My personal preference has always been squared-off pages.

You’ll see in Image 3, that there’s a line missing at the bottom of page 2. Image 3īut, now that your orphan is gone, you have uneven pages. Hit OK and they magically fix themselves. This will keep 2 lines at the start of every paragraph and 2 lines at the end of every paragraph together, eliminating all widows and orphans. In paragraph styling, go to Keep Options and click “Keep Lines Together”. In Adobe inDesign, you can easily change up your paragraphs throughout the whole book with a few clicks of a button. Well, you don’t want him to be alone, so here’s what you do: Image 2 shows your orphan, all alone at the top of the page. If you absolutely cannot stand widows and orphans, you’re going to have to give up the squared-off look, and here’s why: But, you get a nice, clean layout with squared-off pages. For the most part, you have to let them do their thing. To achieve squared off pages, you cannot be picky when it comes to widows and orphans. For this, we will use the words as defined above. Regardless of how you learned it, the information below is still the same. So for some, a widow is at the top of a page, and an orphan is at the bottom. Now, other generations learned the opposite meanings. It’s when only one more line will fit at the bottom and that line is the start of a new paragraph.Īn orphan, is a lonely line at the very top of the page where the paragraph ends. Through the years, different generations have learned alternative definitions of the word “widow” and “orphan”.Ī widow, is a lonely line at the very bottom of the page. There’s the “squared-off pages” group and the “no widows or orphans” group. Runt: Single, short word at the end of a paragraph.There are two groups out there when it comes to pagination style, so you’ll have to decide which group you fall into. Orphan: A paragraph-opening line that appears by itself at the bottom of a page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text. Widow: A paragraph-ending line that falls at the beginning of the following page or column, thus separated from the rest of the text.

#WIDOW ORPHAN SETTINGS IN WORD MANUAL#

The Chicago Manual of Style and Robert Bringhurst in the Elements of Typographic Style agree:

There seem to be different opinions on what is called an orphan and a widow. So now to the definition and naming of these little nitpicks. This is important no matter if the project is a website design, PowerPoint presentation, research report, brochure design, an invitation or any other design that includes text. This would be called an “orphan” or “widow”.Īs graphic designers, we adjust the space between words and/or letters to resolve these typographic problems as the final step in the design process. Similarly, a line or word of text that jumps to the next page/column or starts a page/column should be avoided for the same reason. This break is caused by the unintended white space that calls more attention than necessary to the single word. Why? A lonely single word at the end of a paragraph creates a visual interruption in the flow that breaks the reader’s focus. In typography, you want to avoid single words as the last line of a paragraph and single lines of text at the beginning or end of a column or page.

Widow orphan settings in word