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: Understanding Nonprinting Characters.

Understanding Nonprinting Characters

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 21, 2017)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


There are many characters that Word keeps track of, but that don't normally show up on the screen or on a printed copy of your document. You use many of these characters every day, but probably don't think of them as characters (as such). The list of nonprinting characters that Word uses includes the following:

  • Column breaks
  • Hidden text
  • Newline characters
  • Optional hyphens
  • Page breaks
  • Paragraph marks
  • Section breaks
  • Spaces
  • Tabs

Each of these can be individually displayed in Word by using Options from the Tools menu, and then clicking on the View tab. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The View tab of the Options dialog box.

There are many times when you are working in Word when it is beneficial to make sure that nonprinting characters are displayed. For instance, if you cannot seem to get something aligned properly or formatted just right, nonprinting characters may be the culprits. Display them and then check your formatting.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1227) 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: Understanding Nonprinting Characters.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Formatting Currency

If you want to format currency values so that Excel uses periods between groups of thousands and commas as a decimal ...

Discover More

Linking Comments to Multiple Cells

In Excel, single comments are associated with single cells. If you want to have a comment be linked to multiple cells, ...

Discover More

Finding Changes Made by Two People

The Track Changes feature in Word can be very helpful when multiple people are working on a document. What if you want to ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Repeating Your Typing

Want a quick way to repeat a word or phrase you just typed? Here's the shortcut you need.

Discover More

Moving Breaks Quickly

Breaks in a document can be easily moved from one place to another using familiar editing techniques. The trick is to ...

Discover More

Repeating Actions

Need to repeat an action a whole bunch of times? You can do it a time or two using keyboard shortcuts, but you'll need a ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is six more than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.