Hello,



This is the simplest of tables: two columns, many rows. In a single cell of column 1, I copy the original text of a song; in the same row, column 2, I write the translation. Next song, next row.

On the first line of column 1, indented to the right, I write the composer's name. When I try to apply a style (title 3, whatever) to this line, if the row doesn't fit in the page, the whole row jumps to the next page. I want it to break, but I can't. If I don't apply said style, the row breaks.

I've checked the table properties, looked at the paragraph properties of the style; I just want it to be together with the following text. I haven't found a similar question here. Shauna Kelly seemed to look askance at styles in tables. But this may have changed.

Thanks in advance.

Shauna Kelly looked askance at Table Styles, that is not the same as styles in tables.

The Title Style is set to keep lines together and keep with next. One normally wants a title to appear all on one page and with the text it relates to. This is a paragraph style, not a table style. To change it, modify the style's paragraph formatting so that keep lines together is not checked.

Understanding Styles in Microsoft Word

Thanks. Sorry for the confusion about Shauna Kelly.
Well, yes, it's my case here; I want the title together with the text that follows. My problem is that it breaks with the previous one. In the paragraph features, I only have checked "keep with next", not "page break before." But it looks as if I had activated this last one.

Thanks anyway for your kind answer.

When "keep with next" is active and the next paragraph has "keep lines together" and is a fairly lengthy paragraph, it can cause large blank spaces at the end of the preceding page. That is because Word sees the entire area as a single block that will not fit on the first page and you've told it to keep it together.

For text in tables, settings such as "Keep with next" applies to whole rows only. In this case, if you have a paragraph style with that setting applied to all cells in the first row, that row won't split. Instead, it moves as a whole to the following page.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Thanks to you both. I consider this question solved, but just in case I can add some information to somebody that looks it up, here's an image:

Paragraph styles in tables I.jpg

Obviously, the words I wanted to apply a style to are "Isaac, Heinrich." Here they are manually formatted; as soon as I applied a Title style to them, the whole row splitted and flew to a new page, leaving the two lines in Italian dangling up there.

As you can see, even in Spanish I hope, in the next paragraphs "keep lines together" is unmarked. The line breaks here are not manual. The text of Heinrich Isaac's piece is, yes, quite long.

So to get what I want, I have to a) unmark "keep with next" in the paragraph style Title and b) run the risk of orphans. (Or, maybe, fiddle with table styles, not paragraph styles.)

You've been very kind, thanks!

When "too many" successive rows are formatted as "Keep with next," rows are kind of chasing each other across the page and Word breaks the page whenever it can. That may obviously lead to page breaks in unexpected places.

If you want us to have a closer look, you will have to upload an example document in Word format.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional