5th February 2002

Don't go breaking my heart. Don't go breaking my words, either. You're working in your favorite word processor, typing up your dissertation. Suddenly, the line wraps in an inappropriate spot. You need to put a space between two words, but you need them to be on the same line. It's time to use a non-breaking space. In Microsoft Word, this can be done by holding down CTRL + SHIFT when you tap the space bar. No matter what formatting is applied in the future, these words will never be split apart (lest you replace the non-breaking spaces with regular ones). Now, let's say someone sent you a list of items in need of alphabetizing. Word can do that, too! I'd suggest pasting them into a new document before invoking the command, however. Click Table | Sort | Paragraphs | Text | Ascending (or Descending, depending on the desired result). If there are secondary conditions to be met, then you'll need to select "Field 1" in the first Sort by option. See, there are features in this thing that you need every so often (though you may not realize they're already there).