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Barry MacDonnell's
Toolbox for WordPerfect

Macros, tips, and templates for Corel® WordPerfect® for Windows®
© Copyright 1996-2012 by Barry MacDonnell. All Rights Reserved.

Page updated Mar 15, 2010
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Reduce spacing between a paragraph heading style and the following body text

While you can adjust inter-paragraph spacing throughout the entire document (or for selected paragraphs) in one step with Format, Paragraph, Format, <Spacing between paragraphs>, you might want to adjust just the space between paragraph styles (e.g., Heading 2 or MyHeadingStyle 5) and the following paragraph's body text. Here's one way to do it:

  • Either create a new paragraph heading style with Format, Styles, Create, or edit your existing style with Format, Styles, <stylename>, Edit.
  • At the bottom of the Styles Editor dialog window, be sure to check (i.e., enable) the button, "Show off codes."
  • Now, in the Contents window of the Styles Editor, place the cursor before all codes. Then, on the Styles Editor menu, click on Format, Typesetting, Advance to bring up the Advance dialog. Click the "Down from insertion point" radio button, then set the Vertical distance to (for example) 0.15". Click OK.
  • Next, be sure the checkbox at the bottom of the dialog entitled "Show 'off codes'" is enabled (ticked); then position the cursor in the Contents window after all codes (especially after the [Codes to the left are ON, codes to the right are OFF] code, which is a sort of placeholder for the text to which the style will be applied). Click on Format, Typesetting, Advance to bring up the Advance dialog. Click the "Up from insertion point" radio button, then set the Vertical distance to (e.g.) 0.15".
  • Click OK twice to return to the document.

Note: Normal, 12-point text gives 6 lines per inch, or 0.167" between base lines. The above method adjusts the inter-paragraph space to 0.017" (0.167-0.150). This setting assumes you will have a hard return (i.e., a blank line) between the headings and the following paragraphs, so it adjusts the amount of inter-paragraph blank space by reducing it. Be sure to adjust the vertical down/up amounts to match your particular needs.

Optional: Save (copy) the style to your default template so that it can be used in any new (blank) document based on the default template: Click Format, Styles, <select the style from the list>, Options, Copy, Default template, OK.

Tip: If you need to mark the heading style for automatic inclusion in a Table of Contents, see here.