Only use the higher between space before and after

Word is a word processor with some "user friendly" auto-compromises built in. Some of those features—the one you cite is a good example—sacrifice user input for anticiated user-perpetrated conflict, or outright error.

InDesign, on the other hand, only does exactly what express user input dictates, as it should.

Simplistically, 1 click [quickly written]!

/*
    _FRIdNGE-0736_AdjustParasSpaces.jsx
    Script written by Michel Allio [16/05/2023]
*/

app.doScript("main()", ScriptLanguage.javascript, undefined, UndoModes.ENTIRE_SCRIPT, "Adjust Paras Spaces! …");

function main()     
    {
        // Check if Open Document
        if ( app.documents.length == 0 ) {
            alert( "No Open Document! …" )
            exit();
        }
        
        var myDoc = app.activeDocument;

        var myCondition = myDoc.conditions.item('Para1');
        if ( !myCondition.isValid ) myCondition = myDoc.conditions.add({name: 'Para1', indicatorMethod: ConditionIndicatorMethod.USE_HIGHLIGHT, indicatorColor: UIColors.GRID_ORANGE});

        var myCounter = 0;

        var myStories = myDoc.stories,
        S = myStories.length,  s;

        for ( s = 0; s < S ; s++ ) {

            var myParas = myStories[s].paragraphs,
            P = myParas.length,  p;

            for ( p = 0; p < P ; p++ ) {
                try {
                    if ( myParas[p].spaceAfter != 0 && myParas[p+1].spaceBefore != 0 ) {
                        if ( myParas[p].spaceAfter >= myParas[p+1].spaceBefore ) {
                            myParas[p+1].spaceBefore = 0;
                            myParas[p+1].appliedConditions = [myCondition];
                        }
                        else {
                            myParas[p].spaceAfter = 0;
                            myParas[p].appliedConditions = [myCondition];
                        }
                        myCounter++
                    }
                } catch(e) {}

            }
            
        }
        
        alert( "Done! [" + myCounter + "]" )
    }

(^/)  The Jedi

Hi @daniele.demidio:

I don't know how to get around that in InDesign—perhaps someone else does—but you can log feature requests here: https://indesign.uservoice.com/.

~Barb

Well, just editorializing, but I don't regard Word's behavior in this respect as "better" - just different. I've lost a lot of hours over the years to frustrations with that selective spacing collapse.

But if you haven't, look at InDesign's 'ignore spacing between paragraphs' feature, which allows things like simpler spacing rules for list items.