Divider

A divider is a thin line across the page. It marks a change of subject that does not need a title of its own: the end of a summary and the start of the detail, or the point where one week’s update ends and the next begins.

Insert it

Type the command at the start of an empty line and press Enter. Or choose + on the toolbar, then Divider. If text is selected, the divider takes its place.

• Markdown: three hyphens, ---, at the start of an empty line. Three underscores or three asterisks followed by a space work too.

What it looks like, and when to use it

There is one kind of divider. Here it is, between a summary and the detail under it:

We move to the new office on November 3. Everything below is detail for the people who need it.

Parking: the new building has 40 spaces, given out by the front desk. Bicycles go in the basement, through the side door on Mill Lane.

Good places for one:

• Between a summary and the detail, as above, so readers who only want the gist know where to stop.

• Between entries of the same kind on one page, such as weekly updates or a log of changes, where each already starts with its date.

• Before the end matter of a page, such as contacts or a disclaimer.

Changing and removing it

A divider has no settings. To remove one while editing, click it so that it is selected, then press Backspace or Delete.

Good practice

• Prefer a heading when the next part has a name. A heading can be listed in a table of contents and linked to; a divider cannot.

• Not right before a heading. The heading already starts a new section; a line above it only adds clutter.

• One at a time. Two in a row, or one after every paragraph, make a page look broken.

Related elements

• Headings start a section with a title.

• Expand tucks the detail away instead of leaving it below a line.

• Layout puts sections side by side rather than one after another.