Setting Widow and Orphan Control

You can use widow and orphan control to avoid instances where "leftover" lines from a paragraph are shown at the top (widow) or bottom (orphan) of a page or column. See Widows and Orphans.

This can be done through styles or by using local formatting. Using styles is usually recommended because the setting is automatically applied to any content using that style throughout the project, whereas local formatting affects only the particular content that you are working on.

How to Use a Style to Set Widow and Orphan Control

1. From the Content Explorer, open the stylesheet that you want to modify.

2. Complete one of the following sets of steps, depending on whether you want to use the Simplified view or Advanced view in the Stylesheet Editor.

   • Simplified The Simplified view displays styles in a grid view and is often best for brand new users.

     This view provides an easy way to apply properties to styles, with format options available from a toolbar and dialogs (similar to the way one would use an interface such as Microsoft Word). In some cases, only the most common property options are available in the Simplified view (e.g., font, letter/word spacing, paragraph alignment/indentation, autonumbering format, borders, background). One advantage of the Simplified view is that you can apply a property to multiple styles at the same time. You can also click a check box to hide the properties in the editor, allowing you to see only the styles.

   • Advanced The Advanced view displays styles in a tree structure, and despite the name, is user friendly for authors of all levels.

     For the properties, you can toggle between a grouped display and an alphabetical display. The Advanced view of the Stylesheet Editor lets you edit more settings than are available in the Simplified view. In addition, the Advanced view lets you see and apply settings to multiple mediums and media queries at the same time.

   Warning Mediums can be used if you want to use one group of settings for online output types and another group of settings for print-based output types. For example, you might use the default medium for your online outputs and the print medium for your print outputs.  From the Medium drop-down in the Stylesheet Editor, make sure the proper medium is selected before you begin. In the Advanced view, you can open multiple mediums at once; you just need to look at the title at the top of the medium pane and make sure you are working in the correct one. If you are not using stylesheet mediums for your different outputs or if you want all mediums to have the same settings, just leave the medium set to default and continue. Please note that Flare remembers the last medium that you used when working in the stylesheet, so it may or may not be the one that you want to use the next time around. See Mediums and Media Queries.

   If Using Simplified View

   1. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays (which means that the Simplified view is currently shown in the editor). If the button displays instead, then click it.
   2. In the upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor, click in the drop-down field and select .
   3. Select the appropriate paragraph style. For example, you can select the parent p tag, or you can select a class that you may have created for that tag (e.g., p.Tip, p.Note).
   4. In the local toolbar of the editor, click . The Properties dialog opens.
   5. Select the Breaks tab.
   6. In the Widows section, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Number. Then enter a number in the field. This determines the minimum number of leftover lines from a paragraph allowed at the top of a page or column.
   7. In the Orphans section, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Number. Then enter a number in the field. This determines the minimum number of leftover lines from a paragraph allowed at the bottom of a page or column.
   8. In the Properties dialog, click OK.

   If Using Advanced View

   1. In the local toolbar, make sure the first button displays . If the button displays instead, then click it.
   2. In the upper-left corner of the Stylesheet Editor, click in the drop-down field and select .
   3. Select the appropriate paragraph style. For example, you can select the parent p tag, or you can select a class that you may have created for that tag (e.g., p.Tip, p.Note).
   4. From the Show drop-down list on the upper-right side of the editor, select .
   5. (Optional) You can use the toggle button in the local toolbar to show properties below in a group view or an alphabetical view .
   6. If you are using the grouped view, expand the PrintSupport group.
   7. To the right of orphans, click and enter the number of leftover lines that you want to allow at the bottom a page or column.
   8. To the right of widows, click and enter the number of leftover lines that you want to allow at the top of a page or column.
3. Click to save your work.

How to Use Local Formatting to Set Widow and Orphan Control

1. Open the content file.
2. Click on the paragraph that you want to modify.

3. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:

   • Ribbon Select Home > (at the bottom of the Paragraph section).

   • Keyboard Shortcut Press CTRL+ALT+B.
   • Right-Click Right-click on the paragraph and from the context menu choose Paragraph.

   The Paragraph Properties dialog opens.

4. Select the Breaks tab.
5. In the Widows section, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Number. Then enter a number in the field. This determines the minimum number of leftover lines from a paragraph allowed at the top of a page or column.
6. In the Orphans section, click the down arrow in the upper-right corner and select Number. Then enter a number in the field. This determines the minimum number of leftover lines from a paragraph allowed at the bottom of a page or column.
7. In the Paragraph Properties dialog, click OK.
8. Click to save your work.

What’s Noteworthy?

What’s Next?

After editing a style, you can apply it to content in a topic or snippet. See Applying Styles to Content.