Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Keeping Paragraphs on the Same Page.

Keeping Paragraphs on the Same Page

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 25, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


For some types of documents you may not want your paragraphs to smoothly flow from one page to the next. Instead, you may want to make sure that any given paragraph appears all on one page or another. I require this type of formatting quite often in letters, legal documents, and proposals.

Word includes a formatting feature that allows you to ensure that paragraphs stay together without a page break in the middle of them. You apply this format characteristic by following these steps:

  1. Select the paragraph or paragraphs you want affected by the formatting change. (If you want the change to a single paragraph only, you can simply make sure the insertion point is within that paragraph.)
  2. Choose Paragraph from the Format menu. Word displays the Paragraph dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Line and Page Breaks tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Line and Page Breaks tab of the Paragraph dialog box.

  5. Make sure the Keep Lines Together check box is selected.
  6. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1433) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Keeping Paragraphs on the Same Page.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Quickly Displaying the Page Setup Dialog Box

The Page Setup dialog box is indispensable in setting up the overall look of your document. You can display the dialog ...

Discover More

Top Margin Ignored when Printing

When you press the Print button in Excel, you want your worksheet to go to your printer and produce output as you expect. ...

Discover More

Freezing Cell Size when Inserting Pictures

Insert a picture into a table cell, and you may quickly find that the table is no longer the size you expected. Here's ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Reversing Type

Most text appears black on white, not white on black. If you want to change this so that your type is reversed, here's a ...

Discover More

Understanding Single Line Spacing

Single line spacing, the default spacing used in a paragraph, allows Word to adjust the spacing of individual lines in a ...

Discover More

Adjusting Space Before

If you need to adjust the space that appears before a paragraph, there are several ways you can approach the adjustment. ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is two more than 2?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.