How to Turn Off Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word has a button for turning paragraph symbols on and off, which looks like this ¶. This button is called the formatting marks button. In some situations, it can be helpful to have the paragraph symbols turned on (like if you need to delete a page break, but you can’t tell exactly where the markup is). However, having the paragraph symbols on while typing can be distracting, so if you want to find out how to turn them off, use one of the methods described in the steps below.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Using the Show/Hide Formatting Marks Button

  1. Image titled Turn Off Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word Step 1
    1
    Go to the home tab or main tool bar, depending on which version of Word you are using. In newer versions of Word, the "Show/Hide Formatting Marks" button is located under the “Home” tab in the “Paragraph” section of the toolbar. In older versions of Word however, the button should be on the main toolbar.
  2. Image titled Turn Off Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word Step 2
    2
    Identify the "Show/Hide Formatting Marks" button. The "Show/Hide Formatting Marks" button looks like a paragraph mark (¶). Generally, it is located in the upper right-hand corner of the “Paragraph” section of the toolbar.
    Advertisement
  3. Image titled Turn Off Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word Step 3
    3
    Click on the "Show/Hide" button to remove the paragraph symbols. Once you have found the ¶ button, all you need to do is click on it, and the paragraph symbols will be turned off. To turn them back on at a later point, click on the ¶ button again.
    4. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Removing the Paragraph Marks in Options

  1. Image titled Turn Off Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word Step 4
    1
    Click on "File", then click on "Options". Sometimes, only certain formatting marks are set to show up in the document, which means the Show/Hide formatting marks button may not work. Instead, click on “File” and then “Options.”
  2. Image titled Turn Off Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word Step 5
    2
    Click on “Display”. Under “Display” look at the section marked “Always show these formatting marks on the screen.” You should see a checked box labelled "paragraph marks".
  3. Image titled Turn Off Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word Step 6
    3
    Uncheck the box for “paragraph marks”. At this point you can also turn off any other formatting marks you want to remove, like spaces, hidden text and object anchors.
  4. Image titled Turn Off Paragraph Symbols in Microsoft Word Step 7
    4
    Click “OK” at the bottom of the window. The paragraph marks will no longer appear automatically in any of your documents. [1]
    5. Advertisement

You Might Also Like

Remove a Blank Page in Word
How to
Remove a Blank Page in Word
Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word
How to
Check a Word Count in Microsoft Word
Insert Page Numbers in WordEasily Add Page Numbers to a Word Document on Any Platform
Create an Index in Word
How to
Create an Index in Word
Remove the 'Read Only' Status on MS Word Documents
How to
Remove the 'Read Only' Status on MS Word Documents
Convert Excel to Word3 Easy Ways to Convert Microsoft Excel Data to Word
Insert a Check Box in Word
How to
Insert a Check Box in Word
Make Two Columns in Word2 Easy Ways to Make Two Columns in Microsoft Word
Convert a JPEG Image Into an Editable Word Document3 Free Ways to Convert JPEG Into an Editable Word Document
Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word3 Simple Ways to Insert a Hyperlink in Microsoft Word
Make a Booklet in Word6 Ways to Format and Print a Booklet in Word
Insert a Line in Word4 Simple Ways to Insert a Line in Microsoft Word
Add Images to a Microsoft Word DocumentHow to Insert a Picture into a Word Document: 3 Easy Ways
Add Backgrounds in WordHow to Add Backgrounds in Microsoft Word: Watermarks, Images, & Colors
Advertisement

References

  1. ↑ http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/show-or-hide-formatting-marks-HA010102250.aspx

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 84,011 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 3
Updated: March 29, 2019
Views: 84,011
Categories: Microsoft Word
Advertisement