I must have hit the wrong key. As I was writing a Microsoft Word document, the whole screen changed and now everytime I hit the "Enter" bar, a black Paragraph symbol prints. Each letter has a dot between it as though I am seeing the visual representation for what the program is doing to space the document.
How do I "undo" this lock in? Help!
I cannot create any more files until I
fix this. I am sure it must be a very simple fix, but I don't know how to do it. I will need very simple step-by-step instructions. Don't assume I know anything much about the computer.
At the top of your screen, among all the editing symbols, there is the paragraph symbol. See it?
Click on it, and all those extra marks should go away.
Let me know.
Yes, I see it.
I clicked on the Paragraph symbol.
And all was right with the file again.
THANK YOU!
What a wonderful resource this site is!
Knowing that you can turn this feature on and off can be useful. For example, if the spacing is very different from what you believe you have set, sometimes you can figure out what's going on when you turn this feature on.
* The paragraph symbol means you hit the Enter key at that point.
* If you see a dot, you've pressed the spacebar at that point.
* If you see a right arrow, you've pressed the Tab key.
* Etc.
You're very welcome!!
It seems like you have accidentally enabled the "Show/Hide" feature in Microsoft Word, which displays formatting symbols like the paragraph symbol and dots between words. Don't worry, it's easily fixable. Here are some simple step-by-step instructions to undo this:
1. Open your Microsoft Word document.
2. Look for the "Home" tab in the top menu bar and click on it.
3. In the "Paragraph" section of the toolbar, there should be a button that looks like a paragraph symbol (¶). Click on this button to toggle it off.
Note: This button is called the "Show/Hide" button, and it controls the visibility of formatting symbols.
4. Once you toggle off the "Show/Hide" button, the paragraph symbol and dots should disappear.
5. Now, when you press the Enter key, only a new line will be added without any formatting symbols.
That's it! You have successfully turned off the display of formatting symbols in Microsoft Word. You should now be able to create new files without seeing the paragraph symbol and dots.