Removing Space Before Paragraphs

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 23, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

You know that Word allows you to control exactly how much space appears before and after a paragraph. (Display the Paragraph dialog box and then use the Before and After settings to make your specifications.) If you have quite a bit of formatting to do, and you need to remove space that someone else has set before paragraphs, you may be interested in this tip.

Word includes a handy toolbar button you can use to automatically remove space before paragraphs. In other words, it sets the Before value in the Paragraph dialog box to zero. This tool is available in versions of Word through Word 2003; it is not available in later versions.

You can add this tool to your toolbar by following these steps:

Choose Customize from the Tools menu. Word displays the Customize dialog box.
Make sure the Commands tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.

In the list of Categories, choose All Commands.
In the list of Commands, choose CloseUpPara.
Use the mouse to drag CloseUpPara from the Commands list to its new location on the toolbar. When you release the mouse button, the icon for the command appears on the toolbar.
Click on Close to dismiss the Customize dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (627) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Inconsistent Adding of Words to a Custom Dictionary

Custom dictionaries are a great way to adapt the spelling and grammar checkers to your needs. If you find that Word isn't ...

Discover More

Problems Pasting Large Pictures

If you insert a large picture in your document and your text jumps all around and the picture seems to disappear, don't ...

Discover More

Wrapping Text Around a Graphic

Place a graphic in your document, and you may want to make sure that your document text "wraps" around the edges of the ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (menu)

Forcing a Page Break Before a Paragraph

There are times that you just want to begin a paragraph (perhaps a heading) at the top of a new page. Word allows you to ...

Discover More

Searching for Paragraph Formatting

You can use the Find and Replace capabilities of Word to search for a wide variety of information. One thing you can look ...

Discover More

Aligning Borders with the Page Margins

Add a border to a paragraph and you may find that it extends to the left and right of the regular text margins. To pull ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is six minus 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.