WD97: Widow/Orphan Setting Not Preserved Saving As Word 6.0/95

ID: Q170906

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SYMPTOMS

When you create a document in Microsoft Word 97 with the Widow/Orphan Control setting turned on and then save it in the Microsoft Word 6.0/95 format or in Rich Text Format (RTF), none of the paragraphs will be formatted with Widow/Orphan control setting when you open it in Microsoft Word 6.x.


CAUSE

When Microsoft Word 97 writes out the RTF code for the Widow/Orphan Control setting, Microsoft Word 6.x only partially understands the code and does not apply the Widow/Orphan Control setting to any of the paragraphs.


RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, install Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 1 (SR- 1).

To work around this problem, once you open the document in Microsoft Word 6.x, you can reapply the Widow/Orphan Control setting to the appropriate paragraphs. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Select the text to which you want to apply the Widow/Orphan Control setting.


  2. On the Format menu, click Paragraph.


  3. Click the Text Flow tab.


  4. Under Pagination, click to select Widow/Orphan Control.


  5. Click OK.



STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Word 97 SR-1.

For additional information about SR-1, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q172475 OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1


MORE INFORMATION

To enable or disable the Widow/Orphan Control setting in Microsoft Word 97, follow these steps:

  1. On the Format menu, click Paragraph.


  2. Click the Line And Page Breaks tab.


  3. Click to select (enable) or to clear (disable) the Widow/Orphan Control check box.


Widow (the last line of a paragraph) control prevents a line from being printed by itself at the top of a page. It also prevents an orphan (the first line of a paragraph) from being printed by itself at the bottom of a page. Widow/Orphan Control should be turned off if every page must have the same number of lines.

Widow/Orphan control is not applied to paragraphs that have three lines or fewer. An alternative for this situation is to use the Keep Paragraph Together option (on the Format menu, click Paragraph and then click the Text Flow or Line And Page Breaks tab) which keeps the paragraph from being split between pages.


REFERENCES

For more information about Window/Orphan Control, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q113906 WD: Unbalanced Columns Despite Continuous Section Break

Q118586 WD: Footnote Moved to Next Page
For more information about Window/Orphan Control, click the Office Assistant, type "widow orphan control," click Search, and then click "Control widow and orphan lines."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Word Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q120802 Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office Program or Component

Additional query words: sr1 release1 8.0 8.00

Keywords : kbinterop kbusage winword word97
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbbug


Last Reviewed: August 25, 1999
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