<spacing> (Spacing Between Lines and Above/Below Paragraph)

Specifies the spacing that should be added after the last line in this paragraph in the document in absolute units.

If this element is omitted on a given paragraph, its value is determined by the setting previously set at any level of the style hierarchy (i.e. that previous setting remains unchanged). If this setting is never specified in the style hierarchy, then the paragraph shall have no spacing applied below its contents.

If the @afterLines attribute or the @afterAutoSpacing attribute is also specified, then this attribute value is ignored.

<w:p>
  <w:pPr>
    <w:spacing w:after="240" /> 
  </w:pPr>
  …
</w:p>

This paragraph shall have a minimum spacing below its final lines of 240 twentieths of a point, although the actual spacing may be determined by the inter-line spacing or the spacing above the following paragraph, if either are greater. ]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TwipsMeasure simple type (§2.18.105).

Specifies whether a consumer shall automatically determine the spacing after this paragraph based on its contents.

This automatic spacing shall match the spacing which would be applied to the paragraph in an HTML document where no explicit spacing before/after is specified.

If this attribute is specified, then any value in @after or @afterLines is ignored, and the spacing is automatically determined by the consumer.

If this element is omitted on a given paragraph, its value is determined by the setting previously set at any level of the style hierarchy (i.e. that previous setting remains unchanged). If this setting is never specified in the style hierarchy, then automatic spacing is turned off (not applied).

<w:pPr>
  <w:spacing .. w:afterAutospacing="on" />
</w:pPr>

The resulting paragraph shall have the spacing below its last line determined automatically by the consumer to match an HTML document as specified. ]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_OnOff simple type (§2.18.67).

Specifies the spacing that should be added after the last line in this paragraph in the document in line units.

The value of this attribute is specified in one hundredths of a line.

If the @afterAutoSpacing attribute is also specified, then this attribute value is ignored. If this setting is never specified in the style hierarchy, then its value shall be zero (if needed).

<w:p>
  <w:pPr>
    <w:spacing w:afterLines="300" /> 
  </w:pPr>
  ...
</w:p>

This paragraph shall have a minimum spacing below its final lines of 3 lines, although the actual spacing may be determined by the inter-line spacing or the spacing above the following paragraph, if either are greater. ]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_DecimalNumber simple type (§2.18.16).

Specifies the spacing that should be added above the first line in this paragraph in the document in absolute units.

If this element is omitted on a given paragraph, its value is determined by the setting previously set at any level of the style hierarchy (i.e. that previous setting remains unchanged). If this setting is never specified in the style hierarchy, then the paragraph shall have no spacing applied above its contents.

If the @beforeLines attribute or the @beforeAutoSpacing attribute is also specified, then this attribute value is ignored.

<w:p>
  <w:pPr>
    <w:spacing w:before="80" /> 
  </w:pPr>
  ...
</w:p>

This paragraph shall have a minimum spacing above its first line of 80 twentieths of a point, although the actual spacing may be determined by the inter-line spacing or the spacing below the last line in the preceding paragraph, if either are greater. ]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_TwipsMeasure simple type (§2.18.105).

Specifies whether a consumer shall automatically determine the spacing before this paragraph based on its contents.

This automatic spacing shall match the spacing which would be applied to the paragraph in an HTML document where no explicit spacing before/after is specified.

If this attribute is specified, then any value in @before or @beforeLines is ignored, and the spacing is automatically determined by the consumer.

If this element is omitted on a given paragraph, its value is determined by the setting previously set at any level of the style hierarchy (i.e. that previous setting remains unchanged). If this setting is never specified in the style hierarchy, then automatic spacing is turned off (not applied).

<w:pPr>
  <w:spacing … w:beforeAutospacing="on" />
</w:pPr>

The resulting paragraph shall have the spacing above its first line determined automatically by the consumer to match an HTML document as specified. ]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_OnOff simple type (§2.18.67).

Specifies the spacing that should be added before the first line in this paragraph in the document in line units.

The value of this attribute is specified in one hundredths of a line.

If the @beforeAutoSpacing attribute is also specified, then this attribute value is ignored. If this setting is never specified in the style hierarchy, then its value shall be zero (if needed).

<w:p>
  <w:pPr>
    <w:spacing w:beforeLines="100" /> 
  </w:pPr>
  ...
</w:p>

This paragraph shall have a minimum spacing above its first line of 1 line, although the actual spacing may be determined by the inter-line spacing or the spacing below the preceding paragraph, if either are greater. ]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_DecimalNumber simple type (§2.18.16).

This attribute specifies the amount of vertical spacing between lines of text within this paragraph.

If this element is omitted on a given paragraph, its value is determined by the setting previously set at any level of the style hierarchy (i.e. that previous setting remains unchanged). If this setting is never specified in the style hierarchy, then no line spacing shall be applied to lines within this paragraph.

If the value of the @lineRule attribute is either atLeast or exactly, then the value of this attribute shall be interpreted as twentieths of a point. When the value of the @lineRule attribute is either exactly, the text shall be positioned as follows within that line height:

• When the line height is too small, the text shall be positioned at the bottom of the line (i.e. clipped from the top down)

• When the line height is too large, the text shall be centered in the available space.

If the value of the @lineRule attribute is auto, then the value of the line attribute shall be interpreted as 240ths of a line, in the manner described by the simple type's values.

[Example: Consider the following WordprocessingML paragraph which should have an inter-line spacing of 1.15 times the line height. This constraint would be specified using the following WordprocessingML:

<w:pPr>
  <w:spacing w:line="276" w:lineRule="auto" />
</w:pPr>

The @lineRule attribute value of auto specifies that the value of the @line attribute is to be interpreted in 240ths of a single line height, which means that the net spacing is 276/240ths of a line or 1.15 lines tall. ]

The possible values for this attribute are defined by the ST_SignedTwipsMeasure simple type (§2.18.88).