I'll agree with most of that. The most important point (often disregarded in
legal documents and similar dogs' breakfasts) is that a heading *must* have
more Space Before than Space After. Even if you add 3 pts Space After (as
Word's heading styles do by default), you need to have 12, 18, 24 pts Space
Before (the more leading you have in the body copy, the more space you need
before the headings).

I tend to type two very different types of copy (aside from letters, flyers,
and other odds and ends). One type of document I produce is a consulting
report (such as an appraisal or appraisal review), which is printed on
Letter-size paper. This usually uses a Body Text style that is close to the
Word default: 12 pt TNR with default (Single) line spacing, justified, no
first-line indent, and 6 pts Space After. The other type of document is a
printed book, usually a trade paperback at 6" x 9". For these I usually use
smaller type, first-line indent, and no space between paragraphs, but often
the leading is increased to make the book more readable (or more apparently
substantial).

--
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.

"leftnotracks" wrote in message
...
I'm a professional typographer (which means I hardly ever use Word). So
I'll
offer my $.02. If I contradict Mr. McGhie, then to heck with it.

Body copy should be at least 10 pt. type, and no larger than 12 pt, unless
set for people with particularly poor eyesight.

Leading (AKA linespacing) should be at least 20% above type size, and
probably a bit more. So 11 pt. body copy should be set on 13.5 or 14 pt
leading.

If you are using paragraph indents, then you should have no extra space
between paragraphs. If you prefer to have space between paragraphs, then
do
not use paragraph indents.

Space between paragraphs should be in 1/2 line increments. Our 11/14 body
copy would have paragraph spacing of 7 or 14 pt. I prefer to use the Space
After rather than Space Before for this. Why will be clear later.

Paragraph indents should be in type size increments. Our 11 pt. body copy
should have indents of 22, 33, or 44 pts. Use larger indents for wider
columns.

Subheads should have significant contract from body copy. If using a serif
font (Garamond, Times, Georgia) for body copy, use a bold sans-serif font
for
subheads (Franklin Gothic, Trebuchet, Gill Sans). Set the subhead no more
than 1 point larger than body copy. Give the subhead extra space above and
no
space below. This will keep the subhead tight to the copy it follows and
create a double space above it, cueing the reader to a change in subject.

You may want several levels of subhead., The one I just stated would be
the
lowest. Higher levels require more formatting, such as slight increases in
point size, restoring space below and adding more space above, using
paragraph rules (better than underlining, which should be avoided), or any
or
all or the above.

"Jackie D" wrote:

Really? What's your take on line spacing? I'm always looking for the
best
practice (to use that horrible corporate word!)
--


Many thanks
JD


"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote:

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customizat...platePart2.htm.
FWIW,
I don't agree with everything John writes there.

--
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.

"Anne Troy" wrote in message
...
Hi, Jackie. This refers to space below the paragraph. Space between
the
lines is line spacing (in the Format Paragraph dialog).
I'm not familiar with John's book. Yes, it sounds like he's
contradicting
himself.
In Word, line height is also the line spacing, or...yes...the font
size,
basically. I believe he's trying to say if you have double line
spacing,
then that would mean a 12pt font would be 24 points spacing, and
that you
should use 8 pts space before in that case. Does this make sense?
*******************
~Anne Troy

www.OfficeArticles.com


"Jackie D" wrote in message
...
Hi

My query might seem basic to you Word experts but I am new to
Formatting
Styles, so please bear with me!

I've been reading 'Word Templates: A Guide to their Creation' by
John
McGhie, which I have found incredibly useful. But I'm a bit
confused
about
his suggestions for spacing text under Format
StylesModifyParagraph.

I have no trouble understanding spacing above and below headings
but I
have
come unstuck with the spacing suggestions when it applies to body
text.

John suggests putting no space above and 9 pts below for Book
Antiqua
12pt
body text. Does this mean the space below a block of text (i.e. a
paragraph)
or is it referring to the space between the lines?

John also suggests setting "the space above each body text para to
three
quarters of its line height" for a modern looking document. I'm a
bit
confused by this also. Is he contradicting the idea of no space
above?
Or
is
he making a new suggestion entirely? I can't tell. And, sorry if
I'm
being
dumb, but how do I know what the line height is? Is it equal to
the
point
size of the text?

I'd really appreciate it if John McGhie could post a reply!
--


Many thanks
Jackie D