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Space before paragraph in Pages for Mac

Space before paragraph doesn't seem to work. Space after paragraph works.

I am trying to put chapter titles half way down on a new page, as in most printed books.

(Pages 8.1 on macOS Sierra 10.13.6)

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.13

Posted on Mar 22, 2020 6:48 AM

Reply
4 replies

Mar 23, 2020 11:11 PM in response to CarlAVII

Hi, thanks for the reply.

You sent me a link to the appropriate page in the user's guide. (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/pages/tanb74d5cbe9/mac) I was already aware of all that.


The problem is that the when I specify that I want a paragraph (e.g. Chapter) should be proceeded by say, 30 points of space before the paragraph, nothing happens. It seems to me as a bug. What is written in the user's guide doesn't work. As I wrote in my question, my goal is that the chapter headings will appear not a the top of a new page, but a bit down the page. Open any novel and you will see that it is standard procedure.


When I try the " spaces after paragraph", everything works fine, as expected. There will be a between gap of say, 25 points between the heading and the text body below.


Mar 23, 2020 11:45 PM in response to magne64

Hi Magne,


I read this yesterday, but had no specific ideas at that time.


Tonight I tried this:


I've modified the Subtitle style to include a type size boost t 31 point type, and specified a 252 pt space before paragraph.


In use, I would either add a large (but not as large as 250 pt) space after the paragraph to put some room between the chapter title and the beginning of the text.


OR


would insert a Page break (two, if the book was destined for a print edition) to start the text on the next page (or the next Right page).


But the key to getting 'space before paragraph' to work seems to be inserting a paragraph break (return) before the title. (I have Show invisibles set, so you can see I've placed two spaces, then a return at the top of the page. It may be possible to omit the two spaces without losing the space before paragraph.


Regards,

Barry

Mar 25, 2020 1:28 AM in response to Barry

Thanks Barry, it seems to work! Great!


In the meantime I have made a workaround by creating a style that I called "PageBreak". It consists of one blank character, 10 lines spacing and "start on a new page". I inserted it just before each Chapter paragraph. So for each new chapter I have a pair of paragraphs:


PageBreak

Chapter


But thats's history. Now I can do it "your" way.

Don't forget to ask you collegues to improve the dokumentation/guidelines.


Thanks again, Barry. Keep away from the virus and have a good day.


Regards from Magne Källström on the eastcoast of Sweden

Mar 23, 2020 12:17 PM in response to magne64

Hello magne64,


Welcome to Apple Support Communities. It sounds like you're having trouble with spacing before a paragraph. I'd be happy to share information that may help.


You may find the information here helpful: Set line and paragraph spacing in Pages on Mac.


If that particular article doesn't answer your question, check out the User Guide for Pages here: Pages User Guide.


Take care.

Space before paragraph in Pages for Mac

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