Space between same style paragraphs but not before/after?

Question

Space between same style paragraphs but not before/after?

Anonymous

I have long struggled with this and never found a solution. So it’s time to ask the community.

I want space between paragraphs that are the same style but no space before the first or after the last. This is the exact opposite of the paragraph style option “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style”. In HTML, it is achieved by using the + selector, e.g. p + p { ... }.

And I want to achieve this with one style because I am making and formatting large planning documents with tables. It is impractical to define two styles, then one-by-one select every first paragraph or every cell and apply one style, then awkwardly select the remaining paragraph of every cell one-by-one and apply a different style. I am also regularly copying content into cells with Paste Match Formatting, so I can’t use two styles and make one style automatically follow the other.

I can’t find any way to separate paragraphs (not lines within paragraphs) without introducing extra white space at either the top or bottom of the cell.

Does anyone know a way?

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4 additional answers

Answer 1

Hi Luke,

Thanks for the information.

I would like to confirm if you are using Office 2016 for Mac version 16.12, if so, I would suggest you update to the latest version to get bug fixes and new feature releases.

I have checked the file and your requirement, there is not an option like "Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style" to allow user only add spaces between paragraphs in the table in Word 2016 for Mac but not adding spaces before the first paragraph and after the last paragraph in the cell. When user click on Design tab> Paragraph Spacing> Select "Compact"> There is a space after the last paragraph.

Yes, as you mentioned, I can use the "Style" to achieve the expected behavior in one cell: Add a new style> Style type: Paragraph> Increasing Paragraph Spacing> Add this style to the paragraphs in the cell instead of the first and last paragraphs.

There may be no way to achieve this automatically in one style, but macros may help you in your situation, you can post a new thread to this category: Office/ Word/ Microsoft Office Programming/ Office 2016.

In addition, I think it is a good idea for style of paragraphs in table in Word 2016 for Mac, if there is a space after the last paragraph, this doesn't look neat exactly, we would suggest you post your good idea to Word for Mac UserVoice to improve our product.

We are always looking to improve the overall experience for users.

Thanks for your understanding.

Best Regards,

Gloria

Answer 2

Thanks for offering to help.

I think this is a straight forward inquiry. Either someone knows a way or knows there isn’t a way. I hope someone replies as such. I don’t need suggestions for other ways to achieve the same end result because I already know them and that is how I am working already. I am just checking whether there is some extra option I can use to save the manual formatting.

Here is the additional information. I tried to elaborate more explicitly.

Microsoft Word for Mac, Version 16.2.
In table cells, I have paragraph text. I would like extra space between the paragraphs in a cell. However, I would like no extra space before the first paragraph/line in the cell, and no extra space after the last paragraph/line in the cell. See the image below.

Please, before you offer suggestions, understand that I am very familiar with Word and I know how to do this manually. I know how to change paragraph formatting. I know how to use styles. And I know how to make macros to make repetitive tasks faster.

What I’m seeking is any way to achieve this automatically with one style that I can apply en masse to the whole table, in a similar way to the paragraph style option “Don’t add space between paragraphs of the same style”. I just want the opposite of that: add space between paragraphs of the same style.

In the screenshot below, the pink arrows point to the extra space that is undesirable. The two cells with green text have been formatted manually to achieve the desired result: space between paragraphs in the cell but no space before the first paragraph and no space after the last paragraph.

I have sent the Word document from the screenshot above to you via Private Message. Thanks for offering to have a look.

Answer 3

Anonymous

I could do that. A keyboard shortcut would make it faster, but I’d still need to apply and unapply the style each time content moves in or out of the bottom of a cell.

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Answer 4

Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 322.9K MVP Volunteer Moderator

Format the style so that it has space after it and use a macro to modify the format of the last paragraph in each cell.

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Answer 5

Hi lukejanicke,

To better understand your situation and provide help for you, I would like to confirm some information with you:

Please provide your Office product name and full version number according to this article: What version of Office am I using?
Can you be more descriptive of what it is that you want?
Please capture a screenshot of the space before/after paragraphs which you want to get rid of to share with us.
As you mentioned that you can manually add space between same style paragraphs, please also capture a screenshot of that.

If necessary, you can create a sample file to send to me for test in Private Message.

Best Regards,

Gloria

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Space between same style paragraphs but not before/after?

4 additional answers