WD: Unable to Remove Large Gap Between Header and Following Text

• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 3.0, 3.01, 3.02, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
• Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition
• 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 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you type a heading in a very large point size, a large space is left under the letters for descending characters. Any text on subsequent lines is forced down below this descender space, regardless of the line spacing you choose.

If you set the line spacing to an absolute number by typing a negative number in the Spacing box of the Format Paragraph dialog box, the space that is limited is on the top of the text, not the space left for descenders of that text.

WORKAROUND

To solve this problem, use the Table feature. By using a table to reduce the size of the descender area, you can place text immediately under characters with large point sizes.

To reduce the size of the descender area, follow the steps appropriate for your version of Word.

Word 6.0 and Later

1. On the Table menu, click Insert Table to create a one-column table with two rows.

2. Place the large heading in the first row and the smaller type in the second row.

3. Click in the first cell and click Cell Height And Width on the Table menu.

4. Click to select the Row tab and set the Height Of Row to Exactly.

5. In the At box, type the number of the font size in the selected row, and then click OK.

Word 5.x

1. On the Insert menu, click Insert Table to create a one-column table with two rows.

2. Place the large heading in the first row and the smaller type in the second row.

3. Click in the first cell and click Table Cells on the Format menu.

4. In the Row Height box, select Exactly and in the box to the right, type the number of the font size in the selected row, and then click OK.

Word 4.0

To reduce the size of the descender area, do the following:

1. Create a one-column table with two rows by clicking Insert Table on the Document menu.

2. Place the large heading in the first row and the smaller type in the second row.

3. Click in the first cell and choose Cells from the Format menu.

4. In the Minimum Row Height box, type a negative number of the font size in the selected row, and then click OK.

MORE INFORMATION

When you enter information into the table, the cells resemble the following:

   ------------------------------
   |       40-point type        |
   |  (large descender space)   |
   ------------------------------
   |        9-point type        |
   ------------------------------

   ------------------------------
   |       40-point type        |
   ------------------------------
   |        9-point type        |
   ------------------------------