Skip to main content
B
BlueFunk74
New Participant
February 28, 2013
Answered

How to automatically prevent Widows/Orphans in InDesign

  • February 28, 2013
  • 5 replies
  • 82436 views

Hi,

I constantly create multi-languaged leaflets within InDesign CS5 and the one thing I often find is that I constantly have to revisit the entire document to prevent widows (or orphans - whatever you call them) at the end of a paragraph.

Is there a way to setup within my paragraph style to prevent, lets say, anything less then 10 characters at the end of the paragraph?

I am aware of using the White-Space non break command, but the amount of text I have to visit I wondered if it could be setup in the first instance and prevent widows appearing at the end of a paragraph.

Thanks for taking the time to read

Steve

    Correct answer Peter Spier

    This comes up from time to time, and usually sparks a discussion about why it might not be adviseable, but I'll dispense with that for now and say that you can create a character style that applies No Break, then use a GREP style to apply it to the last n characters in a paragraph in the GREP Styles section of your Paragraph Style definition.  The expression .{n}$ should work, where n = the number of characters you want to keep from breaking.

    5 replies

    Dave Creamer of IDEAS
    Dave Creamer of IDEAS
    Adobe Expert
    October 14, 2021

    I prefer the method that adds the GREP style into the paragraph style. I usually add it into the main Body style so all my derivative, based-on styles pick it up. You just have to change it based on the font size and column width once, rather than remembering to do the find/change.

    David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
      P
      Peter Kahrel
      Adobe Expert
      October 15, 2021

      The problem with GREP styles is that they can slow down a document. Every time a story recomposes -- a character is inserted (or deleted), a float is placed or moved, in index marker is added, etc. -- all GREP styles execute. That can cause delays.

       

      In addition, a GREP style that keeps a certain number of characters together always pulls characters from the paragraph's penultimate line to the last one. But tightening a paragraph a bit so that the short last line is removed often leads to a better result.

       

      P.

        Dave Creamer of IDEAS
        Dave Creamer of IDEAS
        Adobe Expert
        October 15, 2021

        "Slow down" is a relative term. With my system and my documents (that I use it on), I haven't noticed much difference. 

         

        Peter K.--question: does ID recompose every paragraph in a story or just the edited* paragraphs?

        *Anything causing rewrap, such as edited by user, change in column width, or affected by text wrap upon reflow. 

        If the former, it would seem a colossal waste of computing resources.

        David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
        P
        Peter Kahrel
        Adobe Expert
        October 14, 2021

        > Is there a way to find the only the space before the last word of the paragraph?

        \s(?=[^\s]+$)

        This one matches only the space before the last word in a paragraph.

        P.

          Shlomit Heymann
          Shlomit Heymann
          Inspiring
          October 14, 2021

          Thank you so much! 

          L
          Laubender
          Adobe Expert
          April 30, 2021

          "…Is there a way to apply a NOBREAK character style without removing a style already applied?"

           

          Hi Matthew,

          basically no, if you try this "by hand".

           

          BUT:

          It's different if you apply the two character styles with two GREP Styles using a paragraph style.

          Or if you apply the "Bold" character style "by hand" and the "No Break" character style through a GREP Style like Peter Kahrel suggested.

           

          IMPORTANT:

          There must be no entry for font style in the "No Break" character style.

          There must be no entry for No Break in the "Bold" character style.

          No entry with a check box means this state: [-] .

           

          Regards,
          Uwe Laubender

          ( ACP )

          Peter Spier
          Peter SpierCorrect answer
          Adobe Expert
          February 28, 2013

          This comes up from time to time, and usually sparks a discussion about why it might not be adviseable, but I'll dispense with that for now and say that you can create a character style that applies No Break, then use a GREP style to apply it to the last n characters in a paragraph in the GREP Styles section of your Paragraph Style definition.  The expression .{n}$ should work, where n = the number of characters you want to keep from breaking.

            S
            shalanah
            New Participant
            April 1, 2014

            I created a grep that assigns a NOBREAK character style the last word of every paragraph: (\s\w+.?)$

            This should apply the NOBREAK character style to...

            a space (\s)

            + word (\w+)

            + optional punctuation (.?) - really any character

            at the end of every paragraph ($)

            I think my parenthesis are actually optional as well, and I'm sure I could get more specific with the punctuation part too but this seems to the the trick for me.

              HBurrows
              HBurrows
              New Participant
              December 15, 2015

              I searched for an answer to this question, and I found these. I am not following how to create a GREP style. Can someone walk me through that process either by clear instructions or screen shots? I tried a few different things, but I must not be fully comprehending how to do this. TIA

              P
              Peter Kahrel
              Adobe Expert
              February 28, 2013

              To prevent last lines shorter than 10 characters, run this Grep query:

              Find what: .{10}$

              Change to: <leave empty>

              Change format: No Break

              Or you can do this as a Grep style.

              Widow and orphan prevention is set in the paragraph style, see Keep Options.

              Peter

                B
                BlueFunk74Author
                New Participant
                February 28, 2013

                Thats exactly it! Thanks ever so much Peter!

                  Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
                  Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices