Inserting a Non-Breaking Space

Summary: In Word a non-breaking space will help you keep two words together on the same line. Here's two different ways that you can that special kind of space. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

When Word calculates line width and wraps text to the next line, it tries to break the line at either a space or a hyphen. Sometimes, however, you may not want Word to break a line at a certain space. For instance, you may want to make sure that two adjacent words appear on the same line as each other. The answer is to use non-breaking spaces instead of regular spaces when you don't want Word to break a line at a certain space. To do this, hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys as you press the Spacebar. Word will then not break the line at that point.

An alternative way of inserting a non-breaking space is to follow these steps:

Display the Symbol dialog box by displaying the Insert tab of the ribbon, clicking Symbol, and then More Symbols (Word 2007) or choosing Symbol from the Insert menu (older versions of Word).
Click on the Special Characters tab. (Click here to see a related figure.)
Highlight the Nonbreaking Space character.
Click on Insert.
Close the dialog box by clicking on Cancel.

Tip #1081 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Inserting a Non-Breaking Space