To turn off paragraph symbols (¶) in Microsoft Word on Windows, go to the Home tab and click the Show/Hide ¶ button, or press Ctrl+Shift+8. Both do the same thing: they switch the display of formatting marks off (or back on). The symbols never print, so they only change what you see on screen.
If the marks keep coming back, a setting in File > Options > Display is probably telling Word to always show them. This guide covers both fixes, plus Outlook and a few less obvious causes.
Quick Answer
- Open your document in Word for Windows.
- On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click Show/Hide ¶ (or press Ctrl+Shift+8).
- If some marks are still visible, go to File > Options > Display and clear the Paragraph marks and Show all formatting marks check boxes, then select OK.
In This Guide
- Before you start
- Method 1: Use the Show/Hide button
- Method 2: Use the keyboard shortcut
- Method 3: Turn off “always show” formatting marks
- Paragraph marks in Outlook emails
- Word for Mac and Word for the web
- Which option should you use?
- Troubleshooting
- Frequently Asked Questions
Before You Start
The paragraph symbol (¶), also called a pilcrow, marks the spot where you pressed Enter to end a paragraph. Word treats it as a formatting mark, one of several nonprinting characters that show the structure of your document. Others include dots for spaces and arrows for tab characters.
What this guide covers, as of September 2026:
- Word for Windows: Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, Word 2021, Word 2019 and Word 2016. The steps are the same across these versions.
- Classic Outlook for Windows, which uses the same editor and has its own toggle.
- Brief notes on Word for Mac and Word for the web.
Things to know first:
- Hiding formatting marks does not delete anything. Your paragraphs, spaces and tabs stay exactly where they are.
- Formatting marks don’t print, whether they’re visible on screen or not.
- The options under File > Options > Display are Word settings, so they affect every document you open, not just the current one.
Method 1: Use the Show/Hide Button
This is the fastest fix for most people. The button is a toggle, so one click turns the marks off and the next click turns them back on.
- Open the document in Word.
- Select the Home tab on the ribbon (the strip of tabs and buttons across the top of the window).
- Find the Paragraph group, which holds the alignment, bullet and line spacing buttons.
- Click the button that looks like ¶. Hovering over it shows the name Show/Hide ¶. Expected result: The paragraph symbols, dots between words and tab arrows disappear. When the button is on, it usually appears highlighted.
- If the symbols are still there, click the button once more. You may have turned them on instead of off.
If the button toggles most marks but the ¶ symbols stay visible, skip to Method 3. That pattern almost always means an “always show” option is switched on.
Method 2: Use the Keyboard Shortcut
Microsoft lists Ctrl+Shift+8 as the shortcut to “display all nonprinting characters.” It does the same job as the Show/Hide button.
- Click anywhere inside your document so Word is the active window.
- Hold Ctrl and Shift, then press 8 on the top row of the keyboard. Expected result: Formatting marks turn off. Press the same keys again to bring them back.
Use the 8 key above the letters, not the 8 on the numeric keypad. Microsoft specifically notes the keypad won’t work for this shortcut. Some people describe it as Ctrl+Shift+asterisk, because the asterisk shares the 8 key on US keyboards.
Because this shortcut is easy to press by accident, it is one of the most common reasons paragraph symbols suddenly “appear out of nowhere.”
Method 3: Turn Off “Always Show” Formatting Marks
Word has a separate list of formatting marks that it shows all the time, no matter what the Show/Hide button says. If a mark is checked here, the button can’t hide it.
- Select File in the top-left corner of Word.
- Select Options at the bottom of the left pane. In a small window, Options may be tucked under More. Expected result: The Word Options window opens.
- Select Display in the left pane.
- Find the section called Always show these formatting marks on the screen.
- Clear the Paragraph marks check box.
- Clear the Show all formatting marks check box. This box overrides the individual ones, so it must be off too.
- Clear any other marks you don’t want to see all the time, such as Spaces or Tab characters.
- Select OK. Expected result: The ¶ symbols disappear. From now on, the Show/Hide button and Ctrl+Shift+8 control them normally.
Here is what each check box in that section does, based on Microsoft’s description of the Display options:
| Check box | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Tab characters | Tabs as arrows |
| Spaces | Spaces between words as dots |
| Paragraph marks | The end of each paragraph as ¶ |
| Hidden text | A dotted line under text formatted as hidden |
| Optional hyphens | Hyphens that mark where a word may be divided at the end of a line |
| Object anchors | Anchors showing that an object, like a picture, is attached to a paragraph |
| Optional breaks | Break points for words or phrases at the end of a line |
| Show all formatting marks | Every mark above, regardless of the other boxes |
A useful middle ground: leave everything unchecked except Object anchors if you work with images a lot. You’ll see where pictures are attached without the clutter of ¶ symbols. For the full list of options, see Microsoft’s Word Options (Display) page.
Paragraph Marks in Outlook Emails
Classic Outlook for Windows uses a Word-based editor, so paragraph marks can show up while you write emails. Microsoft’s instructions for Outlook for Microsoft 365, Outlook 2024 and Outlook 2021 are below.
Toggle the marks off
- Open a new message, reply or forward.
- Select the Format Text tab.
- In the Paragraph group, click the Show/Hide ¶ button, or press Ctrl+Shift+* (using the asterisk on the 8 key).
If the shortcut doesn’t respond, try popping the message out into its own window first, then press it again.
Change which marks Outlook always shows
- From a new message, select File > Options > Mail.
- Under Compose messages, select Editor Options, then Display.
- Clear the formatting marks you don’t want to see, then select OK.
Microsoft notes that this preference carries over to future messages, replies and forwards. The new Outlook for Windows works differently, and its settings may not include these options. Details are on Microsoft’s formatting marks in Outlook page.
Word for Mac and Word for the Web
Word for Mac also has a ¶ button on the Home tab, and a similar “always show” setting in Word’s preferences. Menu names and shortcuts on the Mac can differ from Windows, so we cover them separately in our guide to removing paragraph symbols in Word for Mac.
In Word for the web, look for a similar ¶ toggle on the Home tab. Its location can vary with the ribbon layout you’re using, so if you don’t see it, try the simplified ribbon’s More options menu.
Which Option Should You Use?
| Your situation | Best fix |
|---|---|
| Marks appeared suddenly while you were typing | Press Ctrl+Shift+8 or click Show/Hide ¶ once |
| You want to switch marks on and off while editing | Keep using the Show/Hide button or shortcut |
| Show/Hide hides spaces and tabs, but ¶ stays | Clear Paragraph marks in File > Options > Display |
| Nothing you click hides any marks | Clear Show all formatting marks in the same place |
| Marks show up in emails | Use the Format Text tab in Outlook |
It’s worth knowing when to turn the marks back on. They make hidden problems visible: extra blank paragraphs, doubled spaces, stray tabs and manual page breaks. If a blank page won’t go away or spacing looks off, show the marks, fix the issue, then hide them again. Our guide on showing spaces in Word explains how to read these marks, and our walkthrough for removing page breaks in Word is a good next step if breaks are the problem.
Troubleshooting
The ¶ symbols won’t go away even after clicking Show/Hide
Go to File > Options > Display and check both Paragraph marks and Show all formatting marks. If either is selected, clear it and select OK. These settings force the marks to stay visible.
Ctrl+Shift+8 does nothing
Make sure you’re pressing the 8 on the main keyboard row, not the numeric keypad. Click inside the document first so Word has focus. On some non-US keyboard layouts the shortcut may not match the key labels; use the Show/Hide button instead.
Every new document opens with the marks showing
The “always show” options in File > Options > Display apply to all documents, so fix them there first. If the problem continues after that, a customized Normal template (the file Word uses to create new blank documents) may be involved. Rebuilding the Normal template is a more advanced fix, so try the display settings first.
There’s one ¶ I can’t delete
Word keeps a paragraph mark at the end of every document, and that last one generally can’t be deleted. That’s normal, and hiding formatting marks hides it from view.
I see dotted underlines or small anchors instead of ¶
Dotted underlines mark hidden text, and anchors show where objects are attached. Both have their own check boxes (Hidden text and Object anchors) in the same Display section.
Arrows or dots appear between words
These are tab and space marks. They go away with the same Show/Hide toggle, unless Tab characters or Spaces is checked under Display.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will paragraph symbols show up when I print?
No. Formatting marks are nonprinting characters. They appear only on screen, even if you leave them turned on.
Does hiding paragraph marks remove the paragraphs?
No. It only changes what Word displays. Your text, paragraph breaks and spacing stay the same.
Why did the symbols suddenly appear?
The most common cause is pressing Ctrl+Shift+8 by accident, or clicking the Show/Hide button without meaning to. Another person using the same computer could also have changed the display settings.
Can I hide paragraph marks but keep seeing spaces?
Yes. Turn off Show/Hide, then in File > Options > Display select only Spaces under the always-show section. Make sure Show all formatting marks is cleared.
Does this setting apply to one document or all of them?
The always-show check boxes in File > Options > Display apply to Word as a whole, not to a single file. The Show/Hide toggle generally carries over to other documents too; if a document still shows marks, click the button again in that window.
What’s the official name of the ¶ button?
Microsoft calls it Show/Hide ¶. It’s on the Home tab in the Paragraph group. Microsoft’s article on showing or hiding formatting marks in Word covers it.
Summary
- Click Home > Show/Hide ¶ to toggle paragraph symbols off.
- Or press Ctrl+Shift+8, using the top-row 8 key.
- If the marks persist, clear Paragraph marks and Show all formatting marks in File > Options > Display.
- In classic Outlook, use Format Text > Show/Hide ¶ or the Editor Options display settings.
- Turn marks back on temporarily when you need to find extra spaces, blank paragraphs or breaks.
Next step: Open a document now, press Ctrl+Shift+8 twice to see the toggle in action, and then check File > Options > Display so only the marks you actually want are set to always show.
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.