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 Strikethrough Formatting.

Understanding Strikethrough Formatting

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 2, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


4

One of the character formats you can use within Word is referred to as Strikethrough. This simply means that Word shows a horizontal line through the middle of the character to which the attribute has been applied. Strikethrough can be applied either by clicking on the Strikethrough tool on the Formatting toolbar or by choosing the Strikethrough check box in any Font dialog box.

A typical use for characters being struck through is in relation to the Track Changes feature of Word. With Track Changes turned on (and displayed on the screen), characters that have been deleted are shown as struck through.

Actually Word has two types of strikethrough formatting. You can specify that something be struck through once or you can choose a double strikethrough. This latter character format, which uses two horizontal lines instead of one, must be applied from the Font dialog box. Simply make sure the Double Strikethrough check box is selected.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1431) 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 Strikethrough Formatting.

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

Locking All Non-Empty Cells

Need to make sure that your worksheet is locked, with only the blank cells accessible to editing? You can do this easily ...

Discover More

Modifying Axis Scale Labels

You want your chart to display information as clearly and succinctly as possible. Modifying the labels used to indicate ...

Discover More

Converting Imported Information to Numeric Values

If the information you import into Excel is treated as text by the program, you may want to convert it to numeric values. ...

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)

Reversed Bolding

If you paste information from one document into another, you may be surprised at the results. If your text changes from ...

Discover More

Formatting Fractions

Need to have a great looking fraction in a document? It's relatively easy to do if you apply the formatting techniques ...

Discover More

Adding Horizontal Lines at the Sides of a Word

Want to add a couple of horizontal lines at the sides of a word? It can be trickier than it sounds, but there are several ...

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 2 + 8?

2016-04-07 03:07:42

Meer Muhammad

How the Macros are recorded in Ms-Word?


2015-01-12 09:40:27

awyatt

Fred: Based on the on-screen choices you describe, it sounds like you have a ribbon-based version of Word. This particular tip is for the menu-based version of the software.

Read the final paragraph or the lead-in boxed information. It tells you what version this is for and directs you to a tip that is for the later versions (like yours) that use the ribbon interface.

-Allen


2015-01-10 16:27:06

Bill

You need to open the "Font" dialog box by clicking the Dialog Box Launcher arrow (the small square containing a diagonal arrow) in the Font section of the Home Tab of the Ribbon. "Double Strikethrough" is in the "Effects" section of the Font dialog box.


2015-01-10 09:52:27

Fred

Where is this? On the top of my screen I only see these choices: File, Home, Insert, Page Layout, References, Mailings, Review, View, & Add-in. I do not see anything called “Formatting” or “Font dialog”. We need instructions for rank dummies like me.


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.