Don't add paragraph spacings, just take larger one

[hmm]

Consecutive paragraphs, A and B, are styled to have vertical spacing after
paragraph A then before paragraph B. I don't want Word 2007 to add the
spacings, but just to take the larger of the two. How do I do it?

 

[Stefan Blom]

In the Word Options dialog box (Office button | Word Options), click the
Advanced category. Under "Compatibility options for," click to expand the
Layout Options. Make sure to clear the check box next to "Don't use HTML
paragraph auto spacing." Click OK.

 

[hmm]

Thanks Stefan.

The check box was already cleared, and checking it in fact decreased the
spacing between paragraphs, but it is still too wide. Liveable, but still
not clear what this setting is doing.

 

[Stefan Blom]

For more on the compatibility options, see
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/288792/en-us ("Description of the
Compatibility options that are available in the Options
dialog box in Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000"). There is not yet an
article specifically targeted at Word 2007, though.

 

[hmm]

Thanks Stefan. The page you cited helped me solve the problem. The 2nd
paragraph had Spacing Before set to Auto. Changing it to a numerical value
and unchecking the specified option produced the correct paragraph spacing.

 

[Stefan Blom]

I'm glad you got it sorted.

It would certainly be easier to understand what the option does if it had a
more descriptive name. <sigh>