<softHyphen> (Optional Hyphen Character)

This element specifies that an optional hyphen character shall be placed at the current location in the run content. An optional hyphen is a character which may be used as a valid line breaking character for the current line of text when displaying this WordprocessingML content, using the following logic:

  • When this character is not the character which is used to break the line, then it shall not change the normal display of text (it shall have zero width)

  • When this character is the character used to break the line, it shall display using the hyphen-minus character within the display of text

Note: 
This sentence needs to be long enough to cause some kind of line breaking.

Normally, just as shown above, this sentence not would be displayed on a single line as it is long enough to require line breaking (given the width of the current page). However, if an optional hyphen were inserted after the letter r in breaking, as follows:

<w:r>
  <w:t>This sentence needs to be long enough to cause some kind of line br</w:t>
  <w:softHyphen/>
  <w:t>eaking.</w:t>
</w:r>

This would allow a break at that position, and when that location is the point of the line break, would insert a hyphen-minus in the word after that character:

This sentence needs to be long enough to cause some kind of line breaking.

If this was not the point of the line break, then no character would be displayed at that location:

This sentence should not be long enough to cause line breaking.

The sentence now does not break at that location, so no hyphen appears in the word breaking. ]

Parent Elements

<r> (§7.1.2.87); <r> (§2.3.2.23)

The following XML Schema fragment defines the contents of this element:

<complexType name="CT_Empty"/>