What do the formatting symbols in word mean?

The symbols that Microsoft now calls “formatting marks” were previously referred to as “nonprinting characters.” By either name, they are characters that take up space or have a formatting function but do not appear on the printed page: spaces, tab characters, paragraph breaks, and the like.

How do I turn on formatting symbols in Word?

Turn the display of formatting marks on or off

  1. Go to File > Options > Display.
  2. Under Always show these formatting marks on the screen, select the check box for each formatting mark that you always want to display regardless if the Show/Hide. button is turned on or off.

How do I get rid of formatting symbols in Word?

Click on Word Options. In the left pane of the Word Options dialog, click on Display. Locate the Paragraph marks option under the Always show these formatting marks on the screen section and uncheck the checkbox beside it to have Word hide the symbols.

How do I turn off formatting marks in Word 2007?

In Word 2007, change this option by clicking the Office button in the top-left corner, choosing Word Options, selecting Display in the left pane, and unchecking “Show all formatting marks.”

What is this formatting mark?

Special marks that are hidden by default that affect how text is displayed in a document. Formatting marks are often used to troubleshoot a document’s layout, appearance, and any printing problems and can be enabled or disabled depending on your preference.

How do I display formatting marks?

Show or Hide the Formatting Marks To show the formatting marks: Press Control+Shift+*. Press those three keys again to hide the formatting marks.

Why are my Word documents showing symbols?

Those strange ¶ symbols are called pilcrow signs or paragraph signs and they show the end of paragraphs. They’re useful to see when you’re formatting and editing e-books and don’t print at all, but could be distracting.

How do I hide formatting marks?

Quickly toggle all formatting marks To turn formatting marks on or off, do the following: In the message window, on the Format Text tab, in the Paragraph group, click the button that looks like a paragraph mark. (When you point your mouse at the button, the tooltip says Show/Hide ¶). Keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+*.

How do you show and hide formatting symbols and hidden text?

If you prefer to see your hidden text only, without displaying formatting symbols, you can adjust a setting in Word.

  1. Click the File tab and select Options.
  2. Choose the Display option on the left.
  3. Check the box for Hidden text under Always show these formatting marks on the screen.
  4. Click OK.

How do I show all formatting marks in Word 2007?

In Word 2007, from the Office Button menu, select Word Options near the bottom right corner of the menu. Select Display from the listing at the left. In the section titled “Always show these formatting marks on the screen”, check or uncheck the appropriate boxes to view the marks of your choice.