Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Entering a "Slashed Zero" in Your Document.

Entering a "Slashed Zero" in Your Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 18, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


For some editing purposes, you may have a need to use a "slashed zero" in your documents. You know—these are the zeros that have a slash through them. They are often used in technical documents to differentiate the zero from the capital letter O.

If you have a need to use this character, you have two choices. First, you can find a font that actually uses the slashed zero in it. If you use this character a lot, this is probably the best long-term solution. If you only need to use the character periodically, however, you can follow these steps:

  1. Position the insertion point where you want the slashed zero to appear.
  2. Press Ctrl+F9. Word inserts field braces.
  3. Type "eq \o (0,/)". (You should not include the quote marks.)
  4. Press Shift+F9. Word collapses your field and the slashed zero appears.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (544) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Entering a "Slashed Zero" in Your Document.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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