[ddub]

I'm using paragraphs with the Line Spacing set at "Double." I have the Spacing box checked that says "Don't add space between paragraphs of the same style." And both the "Before" and "After" spacing for each paragraph is set to "0 pt."

I want to decrease the double-spacing that Word automatically applies BETWEEN paragraphs that are double-spaced. In other words, I want to keep the paragraphs and everything in them double-spaced, but decrease JUST the space after the last line of each paragraph and before the first line of the next paragraphs. Unfortunately, I can't just use single-spacing or multiple-spacing, as this is a legal brief and the court specifically requires double-spacing. But there's no requirement that the spacing BETWEEN the paragraphs needs to also be double-spaced, so I want to make the space between paragraphs slightly less than double-spaced. With my font size for the document text set to 12, and thus Word automatically adding 12-pt double-spacing between every line (and accordingly also between every paragraph), I'd really like the space between the paragraphs to be 10-pt.

If you'd dying to know why I want to do this so badly, it's because I think the 12-pt space between the actual paragraphs just looks like way too much white space (I think it looks fine for the paragraphs themselves, just not between them). More importantly than mere aesthetics, I'm on a strict page limit that I've already exceeded, so every single line matters. And one more specific reason is that I'm able to make my subsection headings (i.e., Introduction, Jurisdiction, Parties, Facts, etc.) single-spaced, so I can go to Paragraph Indents and Spacing Spacing, and set the Line Spacing for just the one line of the subsection headings to "Single" and the spacing After to "10-pt." But the problem with that is, I can't decrease the space BEFORE those subsection headings—since it's pulling the double-space formatting from the last line of the double-spaced paragraphs that precede each subsection heading—so I end up with an obviously uneven looking space before (12-pt) and after (10-pt) each subsection heading.

I've been using Word for years and have rarely come across a formatting question that I either can't figure out myself through trial & error, or at least find a quick answer Googling it. But this one is apparently the lone enigma.

Thanks a million in advance if anyone has any idea how to make this happen!

[Peter T. Daniels]

When you set your paragraph spacing to Single or Double, the spacing isn't
equal to the point size; single-spacing of a 12-pt font is about 14.4 pt, so I suppose double-spacing is about 29 pt.

You could try setting your paragraph spacing to Exactly 24 pt and see if
that looks any better. Decreasing space between paragraphs would be hideous..

I usually use 1.5 Spacing as my default. The legal eagles might not let
you get away with that, though.

You didn't say so, but I hope you're using Paragraph Styles for your
heads and subheads so you don't have to do all that adjusting individually!

On Monday, April 30, 2018 at 9:31:07 AM UTC-4, ddub wrote:
I'm using paragraphs with the Line Spacing set at "Double." I have the
Spacing box checked that says "Don't add space between paragraphs of the
same style." And both the "Before" and "After" spacing for each
paragraph is set to "0 pt."

I want to decrease the double-spacing that Word automatically applies
BETWEEN paragraphs that are double-spaced. In other words, I want to
keep the paragraphs and everything in them double-spaced, but decrease
JUST the space after the last line of each paragraph and before the
first line of the next paragraphs. Unfortunately, I can't just use
single-spacing or multiple-spacing, as this is a legal brief and the
court specifically requires double-spacing. But there's no requirement
that the spacing BETWEEN the paragraphs needs to also be double-spaced,
so I want to make the space between paragraphs slightly less than
double-spaced. With my font size for the document text set to 12, and
thus Word automatically adding 12-pt double-spacing between every line
(and accordingly also between every paragraph), I'd really like the
space between the paragraphs to be 10-pt.

If you'd dying to know why I want to do this so badly, it's because I
think the 12-pt space between the actual paragraphs just looks like way
too much white space (I think it looks fine for the paragraphs
themselves, just not between them). More importantly than mere
aesthetics, I'm on a strict page limit that I've already exceeded, so
every single line matters. And one more specific reason is that I'm
able to make my subsection headings (i.e., Introduction, Jurisdiction,
Parties, Facts, etc.) single-spaced, so I can go to Paragraph Indents
and Spacing Spacing, and set the Line Spacing for just the one line of
the subsection headings to "Single" and the spacing After to "10-pt."
But the problem with that is, I can't decrease the space BEFORE those
subsection headings€”since it's pulling the double-space formatting from
the last line of the double-spaced paragraphs that precede each
subsection heading€”so I end up with an obviously uneven looking space
before (12-pt) and after (10-pt) each subsection heading.

I've been using Word for years and have rarely come across a formatting
question that I either can't figure out myself through trial & error, or
at least find a quick answer Googling it. But this one is apparently
the lone enigma.

Thanks a million in advance if anyone has any idea how to make this
happen!