

The more that Before spacing exceeds After spacing, the more Word displays the black square above the vertical center of the line: (This is a more robust way to add space before and after paragraphs compared to simple pressing Enter to add a blank line!) If there’s an equal amount of space Before and After, Word displays the black square near the vertical center of the first line of the paragraph. Select Indents and Spacing in the Paragraph dialog, and then adjust the Before and After spacing: To apply spacing, place the cursor in the paragraph, and then click the dialog launcher,, at the bottom right of the P aragraph group on the Home ribbon tab, or right-click and then select Paragraph. The position of the mark relative to the first line of the paragraph is dependent on the amount of spacing before and after the paragraph. The Significance of the Paragraph Property Mark’s Position Select Line and Page Breaks in the resulting Paragraph dialog:īy default, Word’s Heading styles have Keep with next applied, so you will see the paragraph property mark next to each paragraph with one of those styles. To apply any of these settings, click the cursor anywhere in the paragraph, and then click the dialog launcher,, at the bottom right of the P aragraph group on the Home ribbon tab, or right-click and then select Paragraph.

#Microsoft word paragraph formatting single space series#
In 2006, I wrote an article for my Wordman’s Production Corner series in the Perspective newsletter, published by the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP), titled The Curse of the Black Spot.

The small black square to the left of some paragraphs in a Microsoft Word document, aka the Paragraph Properties Mark, can tell you a lot about the formatting applied to those paragraphs.īy Dick Eassom, CF APMP Fellow (aka Wordman)
