WD: Selected Paragraph Marks Are Not Removed When Deleted

ID: Q185825

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows NT, version 6.0
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a

SYMPTOMS

When you select and delete some of the text and the paragraph mark of a paragraph, the paragraph mark is not deleted and the remaining text of the edited paragraph does not merge with the following paragraph.

CAUSE

Word preserves the formatting of text and paragraphs when the following conditions are true:

• The selected text has a different paragraph style (or different paragraph formatting) applied than the following paragraph.

  -and-

• The "Use smart cut and paste" check box is selected (on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Edit tab).

WORKAROUND

Use one of the following methods to workaround this problem:

Method 1: Delete the Text Before Deleting the Paragraph Mark

Select and delete just the unwanted text of the paragraph and then select and delete the unwanted paragraph mark.

In Word 6.x when you delete the selection, the following paragraph will acquire the style or paragraph formatting of the edited paragraph.

In Word for Windows 95 when you delete the selection, the edited paragraph will acquire the style or paragraph formatting of the following paragraph.

Method 2: Clear the "Use Smart Cut and Paste" Option

If you want the paragraphs to be merged automatically when the selection is deleted, clear the "Use smart cut and paste" check box. To do this, use the following steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Edit tab.

2. Click to clear the "Use smart cut and paste" check box.

3. Click OK.

In Word 6.x when you delete the selection, the following paragraph will acquire the style or paragraph formatting of the edited paragraph.

In Word for Windows 95 when you delete the selection, the edited paragraph will acquire the style or paragraph formatting of the following paragraph.

MORE INFORMATION

This behavior does not occur when the text selection (selected text and paragraph mark) and the following paragraph have the same style or paragraph formatting. When you delete the selection, the entire selection including the paragraph mark (and its line break), is removed. The paragraph following the text selection moves up to where the selection began. In this case, the "Use smart cut and paste" option has no effect.

This behavior does not occur if the selection includes only the paragraph mark.

Additional query words:

Keywords          : kbdta winword word6 word7 word95 macword6 word 
Version           : MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a; WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; WINNT:6.0
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS winnt
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: February 12, 1999