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I want to disable the Microsoft Word autoformat setting that places a blank paragraph before new paragraph

Anonymous
2021-01-15T22:08:31+00:00

When I press enter to insert a new paragraph in a word document, it normally just goes to the next line below. But sometimes I like to press enter twice between paragraphs, using a blank paragraph line to create a space of separation. This is a personal, organizational preference for developing documents. However, Word sometimes automatically places a blank paragraph line when I do not want it. This happens when I am typing from a paragraph which has a blank paragraph line separation from the preceding paragraph. It is as if I do it once, and Word presumes I want to continue placing blank paragraph lines before the next paragraph. Below is a representation of my issue. 

[text]¶

[text]¶

[text]¶

¶ (here, I intended to insert this blank paragraph line because I wanted separation from the next paragraph of text)

[text]¶

¶ (here, this is where Word automatically inserts a paragraph line. i did not do this or ask for this.) 

[text]¶

[text]¶ (here, the autoformatting continues, but if I manually remove the autoformatted paragraph and type normal text, the autoformatting stops and no more blank paragraphs are placed before next paragraph)

[text]¶

If I want that blank paragraph line to separate paragraphs of actual text, I will press enter twice on my volition. I do not want Microsoft to autoformat this setting under some presumption that I want to continue with that style. 

I have looked everywhere for the relevant autoformat setting and cannot find anything that will turn this off. 

Also, Im just gonna nip these questions in the bud, but this is not a spacing issue. Doesnt strike me as an indentation issue either. So please do not offer solutions intended for those type of issues.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Charles Kenyon 167.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-01-16T22:56:23+00:00

    The initial post shows paragraph marks for the empty space, not just the space.

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  2. Stefan Blom 341.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2021-01-16T15:11:50+00:00

    If you mean that pressing Enter once sometimes adds extra spacing, then the cause is that the current paragraph (style) has Spacing Before or Spacing After applied to it. 

    Also, remember that the selected value for Line Spacing will add to the spacing added as you press Enter.

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  3. Charles Kenyon 167.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2021-01-16T03:25:03+00:00

    I know of no AutoCorrect function that does what you are experiencing.

    Can you save a copy of your problem document on OneDrive or DropBox and post a link here? I want to see if it is something in your styles.

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  4. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2021-01-16T02:45:57+00:00

    Word does NOT automatically insert an empty paragraph.  That is only done by pressing the Enter key, which may be faulty on your keyboard.

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  5. Anonymous
    2021-01-15T22:50:26+00:00

    This is just general advice that does not seem to consider my actual problem. Nothing in that autocorrect options tab fixes the issue. It persists even when I uncheck everything under "automatically as you type."

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