Lists and the space left after they end

[TechWriter]

John McGhie, one of the MVPs for Word, writes about managing the space
at the end of a bulleted list in the following manner: Pedants would
say that you should define a List Last style to set the spacing below
the last paragraph of a list. And the anal-retentive would have one of
each... In corporate documentation, use half-body space after for lists
and don't bother with List Last.

I don't quite understand what he means when he asks you to use
half-body space after for lists. Anyone who could throw some light on
this part? And also suggestions how to go about it?

Thanx in advance,
TechWriter

 

[Jezebel]

What he's getting at is that list items should often be set so that the list
items are close set (no interparagraph spacing), but with a half-line
spacing before the first and after the last items in the list. In this
context, 'half-body space' means setting the SpaceBefore or SpaceAfter for
the paragraph to half the line spacing (ie 6pt or thereabouts, for 10/12
setting).

W2003 has a built-in work-around for this problem: define the list style
with 6pt before and after, and check the "Don't add space between paragraphs
of the same style" check box.

 

[TechWriter]

Any sort of workarounds for Word 2000, because that's what I am working
on?

 

[Stefan Blom]

In Word 2000 (or Word 97) you can add the spacing as direct formatting
to the last paragraph before each list as well as to the first paragraph
after each list. Alternatively, create two styles with the appropriate
settings and apply them as needed.

 

[Jezebel]

Well, at the risk of seeming glib: Pedants would
say that you should define a List Last style to set the spacing below
the last paragraph of a list. And the anal-retentive would have one of
each...