Widow and orphan control is an important feature in MS Word that helps ensure your document is visually appealing and easy to read. These terms refer to lines of text that appear alone at the top or bottom of a page, disrupting the flow of the content. Widow control prevents the last line of a paragraph from being isolated at the top of a page, while orphan control prevents the first line of a paragraph from appearing alone at the bottom of a page.
Here’s how to enable widow and orphan control:
- Go to the “Page Layout” Tab:
- Click on the “Page Layout” tab in the Ribbon.
- Click on “Paragraph” Settings:
- In the “Page Setup” group, click on the small arrow in the corner to open the “Paragraph” settings window.
- Enable Widow and Orphan Control:
- In the “Paragraph” dialog box, go to the “Line and Page Breaks” tab.
- Check the box next to “Widow/Orphan control” to enable this feature.
- Apply to the Document:
- Once enabled, this setting will ensure that no paragraph begins or ends with a widow or orphan. MS Word will automatically adjust the text to avoid these issues.
Widow and orphan control helps maintain the readability and professional appearance of your document, especially in long texts like reports or books.