--- trunk/webwork-modperl/lib/WeBWorK/ContentGenerator/Problem.pm	2003/07/11 20:01:56	1364
+++ trunk/webwork-modperl/lib/WeBWorK/ContentGenerator/Problem.pm	2003/07/14 15:14:14	1378
@@ -768,7 +768,9 @@
 }
 sub nbsp {
 	my $str = shift;
-	($str eq '') ? ' ' : $str  ;  # returns non-breaking space for empty strings
+	($str =~/\S/) ? $str : ' '  ;  # returns non-breaking space for empty strings
+	                                    # tricky cases:   $str =0;
+	                                    #  $str is a complex number
 }
 sub viewOptions($) {
 	my $self = shift;