¶ is Your Friend

Showing the Formatting Marks
to Fix Layout in Word Docs

Have you ever been editing a MS Word Document and the layout keeps hopping around? Do you have one of those documents that print extra blank pages? Chances are good it's a formatting problem.

Showing all the formatting marks makes it easy to identify problems and delete extra formatting. I first learned this trick on Word Perfect. Give it a try.

On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the formatting icon to toggle Show/Hide. The background of the formatting  button is shaded when it's turned on.

Now your document will show paragraph marks ¶, tab marks , spaces (gray dots), and other hidden formatting. Carefully review and delete unwanted formatting. If your document is printing blank pages scroll to the bottom of the page and delete all the hidden formatting marks up to the last line of your document.

If you have never used this tool I recommend saving a copy of your document prior to deleting extra formatting.

Was this helpful? Post a memo.


Facebook Comments

Post a Memo