Controlling Widows and Orphans

Summary: Got singular lines at the bottom or top of a page? These are often referred to as widows and orphans, and Word allows you to make sure that they don't occur in your documents. Here's how to format your paragraphs to account for them. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

In typographical terminology, widows and orphans are closely related (no pun intended). These terms refer to one (and sometimes two) lines of a paragraph left by itself on a page. A widow is the last line of a paragraph left by itself at the top of a page; an orphan is the first line of a paragraph left by itself at the bottom of a page. You will want to avoid both widows and orphans in your documents, as they break up the flow of the text and tend to distract the reader.

Word allows you to automatically control single-line widows and orphans in your documents. To control widows and orphans in your documents, follow these steps:

Put the insertion point in the paragraph that has either the widow or orphan text.
Display the Paragraph dialog box. (In Word 2007 display the Home tab of the ribbon and click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Paragraph group. In older versions of Word click Format | Paragraph.)
Display the Line and Page Breaks tab. (Click here to see a related figure.)
Make sure the Widow/Orphan Control check box is selected.
Click on OK.

Tip #1149 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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