I recall seeing it a long long time ago in a printed reference book that
probably predated the existence of HTML and Harry Potter.
It's also possible that I oversimplified a little, as well. For example,
when you use Auto, Word doesn't add spacing before the first paragraph in
the document. Also, it doesn't really make the spacing between paragraphs
exactly equal to the point size being used. Rather, as I recall, it uses the
point size of the tallest character's "envelope" in the font being used. So,
using Arial 12, for example, when you use Auto, that's effectively the same
as using Before/After spacing of 14 points -- not 12 points. The
relationship between those two numbers varies by font and by point size. As
I recall, the ratio (14/12 in this case) tends to get smaller as point size
increases.
But, the basic point (so to speak) is that when you choose Auto, you [the
user] don't have to futz with it. Somebody else has already futzed with in
designing the fonts and providing the metrics that Word should use.
This also works in conjunction with one or more of the Compatibility
options. Notably, "Auto space like Word 95", "Don't add extra space for
raised/lowered characters" and "Don't add leading (extra space) between rows
of text" seem like likely candidates for things that would be in the back of
Auto's mind as it decides whether it needs more space.
--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
http://www.herbtyson.com
Please respond in the newsgroups so everyone can follow along.
"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
Is that documented anywhere? If not, how did you figure it out? Also, I
suspect it may work well only at normal text point sizes. Change the font
size to 72 and see what happens!
Another explanation is that it works in conjunction with the "HTML auto
paragraph spacing" option. See "WD2000: How to Use the HTML Paragraph Auto
Spacing" at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=207893
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
so
all may benefit.
"Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote in message
...
Auto adds the "appropriate" spacing between paragraphs based on the
current
point size to achieve effective double spacing between paragraphs. For
example, if my current point size is 12, I *could* add before and after
spacing of 12 points. This would double space between paragraphs -- but
only
when the point size is 12.
If I later change the point size to 8, 10, 14 or 24, the before/after
spacing of 12 will now seem too large or too small. If I set before/after
to
Auto, however, Word will automatically scale before/after spacing to
match
the current point size, thus achieving the correct effect automatically.
--
Herb Tyson MS MVP
http://www.herbtyson.com
Please respond in the newsgroups so everyone can follow along.
"LGFN" wrote in message
...
In the Paragraph dialog box, Indents and Spacing tab, under the Spacing
category - "Before" and "After", it's 0 pt, I press the Down button,
what's
that?, what's "Auto"? for what is it made for? for what can I use it?
anybody
has some idea?