In trying to recreate the appearance of an old-style book, I want the first letter of the first paragraph of a new chapter to be three times the size of the surrounding text, with the top of the large letter even with the rest of the text of the first line. However, when I do that, a gap appears on the second line of my paragraph, to accommodate the large letter. How can I get the text of my second and third lines to "morph" around that extra large first letter? I'm attaching a screen shot to show my dilemma. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Attached Images

Example.jpg (49.5 KB, 12 views)

Make sure you didn't inadvertently press Enter at the end of the first "line" (that is, after "dissolved"). Press the ¶ button on the Standard toolbar in order to display paragraph marks (¶) as well as other nonprinting marks.

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Hi
When you change the size of the first letter of a paragraph this will naturally cause the second and subsequent lines to move down to accommodate the size of the first letter of the paragraph. See solution below:

1. Type your paragraph as you normally would.
2. Select the first letter of the paragraph.
3. Choose Drop Cap from the Format menu. Word displays the Drop Cap dialog box.
4. Chose the position for your drop cap, according to your preference.
5. Change any other options to format your drop cap.
6. Click on OK.

Good point. I assumed the original poster was using the dropcap feature, but I realize this may not be the case.

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Thank you! I was NOT using the dropcap feature. I was trying to do the same effect by using superscript or subscript and them changing the font size. Your solution worked like a charm. Appreciate the assistance!