Are you using somebody else's Word documents, but don't have a clue what's going on? (Did they use tabs, or spaces or tables? Is there a page break or section break?) Or perhaps you are creating an index and cannot bear the fact that it automatically turns on the display of paragraph marks and other non-printing formatting marks as soon as you mark an entry for an index?
You might know you can show or hide formatting marks by clicking on the Show/Hide button in the Paragraph group on the Home tab. (The button looks like a reversed P.) But do you know its keyboard shortcut, saving you time – and frustration?
Here’s how:
1. Press CTRL + SHIFT + 8 to switch on.
2. Press CTRL + SHIFT + 8 to switch off. (It’s a toggle.)
You sometimes see that the shortcut is listed as CTRL + * (for example, hover over the Show/Hide button on the ribbon) but as you cannot use the asterisk on the numeric keypad of your keyboard I thought this might be easier to understand.
By the way, as the title suggests… this also works in Outlook, which is good to know as Outlook has no Show/Hide button.
PS I'm committed to sharing the best of what I know with others so please don't keep these tips a secret. If you enjoyed today's tip, please forward it to anyone you feel may benefit or reprint it (with full copyright and subscription information) in your newsletters and message boards. Got a tip to share? Submit it by emailing karen@roem.co.uk - if your tip is selected, I'll publish it along with your name; the bragging rights will last a lifetime.
17 May 2005
Karen Roem offers software training and support through her company Roem Ltd. Contact her by email (Karen@roem.co.uk) or visit her website at http://www.roem.co.uk
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