To display non-printing characters in Word, click Show/Hide ¶ on the Home tab or press Ctrl + Shift + 8. Word then shows paragraph marks (¶), spaces (·), tabs (→) and other formatting marks. They never print. Press the same button again to hide them, which is also how to get rid of “blue” or grey paragraph symbols that suddenly appear.
Quick Answer
Home > Show/Hide ¶, or Ctrl + Shift + 8, to show or hide all formatting marks.
Steps to Show or Hide Formatting Marks
- Open the document.
- On the Home tab, click ¶ (Show/Hide) in the Paragraph group.
- Click it again to hide the marks.
Show Only Some Marks
Go to File > Options > Display and, under Always show these formatting marks on the screen, tick only the ones you want, such as paragraph marks or tab characters. If marks stay visible after you click Show/Hide, untick Show all formatting marks here.
What the Marks Mean
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ¶ | End of a paragraph (Enter) |
| · | Space |
| → | Tab |
| ↵ | Manual line break (Shift + Enter) |
| ° (small degree-like mark) | Non-breaking space |
| Dotted underline | Hidden text |
| Small black square | Keep with next / page break formatting |
Troubleshooting
- Marks won’t go away: Check File > Options > Display for ticked items and Show all formatting marks.
- Marks appear blue: Some views and themes colour them. They still don’t print.
- Cleaning up empty lines: See deleting blank lines.
- Hidden text showing: See hiding text in Word or getting back to normal view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do formatting marks print?
No. They’re only shown on screen.
What’s the Mac shortcut?
Press Cmd + 8, or click ¶ on the Home tab.
Why use them?
They show extra spaces, stray breaks and tabs, which makes layout problems easy to fix.
Summary
- Click Home > Show/Hide ¶ or press Ctrl + Shift + 8.
- Click again to hide them.
- Choose specific marks in File > Options > Display.
- They never print.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.