Blank returns at top of page

[Guest]

I often create long documents that are revised numerous times. Between the
end of a section and the next heading, I generally create two blank returns
(which I always want there). At some point, the section end will be at the
end of the page and the two blank returns will be at the top of the next page
(before the next heading). Is there any way to stop this from happening? I
want the returns there because on the next revision that section might end up
in the middle of a page. I have tried going to the 'Compatibility' tab in
'Tools - Options' and checking all the options that have to do with
suppressing line spacing at the top of a page; however, none of them seem to
work. Is there any help for me, please?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Don't use empty paragraphs; use Space Before instead. Space Before above a
heading is suppressed at the top of a page (unless it follows a manual page
or section break).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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[Jay Freedman]

I often create long documents that are revised numerous times. Between the
end of a section and the next heading, I generally create two blank returns
(which I always want there). At some point, the section end will be at the
end of the page and the two blank returns will be at the top of the next page
(before the next heading). Is there any way to stop this from happening? I
want the returns there because on the next revision that section might end up
in the middle of a page. I have tried going to the 'Compatibility' tab in
'Tools - Options' and checking all the options that have to do with
suppressing line spacing at the top of a page; however, none of them seem to
work. Is there any help for me, please?

Instead of the two blank returns, use paragraph formatting of 24 pt
Space Before in the first paragraph of the section. The best way to do
this is to create a style with that formatting, and with a "Next
Style" of Normal (or whatever you're using for body text).

The Compatibility options for suppressing space refer to the Space
Before setting, not to blank returns (for which they'll do nothing).

In general, in Word it's a Bad Idea (tm) to use blank returns for
anything unless there's absolutely no other way to get what you need.
They'll inevitably come back to bite you.