De-Runt Your Paragraphs With a GREP Style

Although you can control quite a few widow and orphan settings with InDesign's Keep Option settings, one problem remains: a too-short last line (sometimes called a "runt"). Let's assume you have a style rule that states the last line of a paragraph must contain at least 10 characters. The following GREP Style trick helps you follow that style.

1. Start by creating a Character Style called "no break" that only has the No Break option enabled.

2. Next, add a new GREP Style to your paragraph style, set the Apply Style pop-up menu to the "no break" character style you created earlier, then enter the following regular expression in the To Text field:

.{10}$ (That's a dot-curly-ten-curly-dollar sign.)

Now any 10 last characters of the paragraph will never be broken.