Wow, it only took FOUR YEARS to correct this little bug. Congrats!

I am having the same issue in InDesign 2021. A space is added only on the first page where the text variable is applied. On subsequent pages, the line break does not add a space.

Having the same issue.

It seems like the extra space appears in the text variable only when the variable is on the same page as the source text. For instance, I see an extra space corresponding to a soft return character in the chapter title in the running head on the first page of the chapter, but the space does not appear in the running head on subsequent pages.

@Erica - You're correct. It just happens on the first instance, which makes it hard to compensate. The resulting text ends up with either no space in the first instance, or two spaces in all the rest. This bug is related to the "missing space bug" in text variables. Forced returns in running heads are not replaced by spaces in the first instance, but the space is inserted in all the subsequent instances. These little things create big headaches, especially when they're allowed to go so long without getting fixed.

I am also having this issue, but it only happens on the first instance of the text variable. All following uses has the additional space removed from where the line break happens and then is added to the end of the line.

Also look into Bug ID - ID-4116182 where I commented and left a sample document.

Thanks,
Uwe Laubender
( ACP )

Workaround:
Instead of a forced line break special character use a simple blank.
Set this blank to a very large width using character width property and a high tracking value so that the next text has to break to a new line.

See:
https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/running-footer-is-displayed-correctly-on-the-first-page-but-removes-spaces-on-the-second-page/m-p/11647429#M406406

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( ACP )

I have a situation where one brand of this document sells two versions of the same model.
So "ProductVariable" is defined as "ProductA" in one doc, and "ProductA and ProductB" in another doc.
Is there a way to set it so it *may* break across a line?
(I've worked around it by editing the text before the variable - which introduces an inconsistency between this and other related documents...and only addresses places where we catch the bad line breaks.)

This seems to be related to the text variable "missing space" bug. In a running head, for example, the forced returns are not replaced by spaces on the first instance, but the space IS created for subsequent instances.

This is very troublesome for me too. Also I find it inconsistent, sometimes the soft return + space =2 spaces, some times it is only one space ( like it should be the soft return should not translate not a space)- This difference can happen within the same chapter and when this happens I have to abandon this function all together and use old fashioned section starts.

This seems like a bug that would be easy to fix.

Please correct this bug. We do a lot of books and the workarounds make our work slow and unproductive. Thank you.

Good to know. Thanks.