HELP! Formatting marks turn on suddenly while typing

[LisaR]

Hi,

I'm trying to edit documents submitted to me in Word 97-2003 format, which
of course opens in Compatibility Mode in my Word 2007 program. I am having
problems with the show/hide formatting marks suddenly toggling on when I try
to make changes in the document. This occurs when I type a number or press
the space bar. I thought maybe it was a software quirk with my bluetooth
keyboard, but it also occurs if I use my laptop's keyboard.

I've never had this problem until just recently, and it's really slowing
down my productivity.

I've tried the following to resolve the problem, with no luck:
1. Turning off the Show all Formatting Marks option under Display in Word
Options
2. Renaming the Normal.dotm file as oldword.old to get Word to generate a
new template when reopened
3. Saving the file in rich text and plain text formats
4. Saving the file as a 2007 document then resaving a new copy as a 97-2003
document

I'm running Office 2007 SP2 and Vista SP2.

Any help with this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The toggle is Ctrl+*. If you are using a US keyboard, that's Ctrl+Shift+8;
perhaps you are pressing that inadvertently?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Stefan Blom]

The built-in shortcut for displaying nonprinting marks is Ctrl+Shift+8, but I
guess it's possible that there is another shortcut defined on your system. In
Word, click the Office button, and then click Word Options. In the Customize
category, click Customize. In the Customize Keyboard dialog box, choose "All
Commands" for "Categories," and then see which shortcuts are assigned to
ShowAll.

 

[Stefan Blom]

Hmm, I don't think Ctrl+Shift+8 is specific to US keyboards. I suspect that
it will be correct for many "Western" keyboards, since the numbers are on
the row below the function keys. However, Ctrl+Shift+8 doesn't necessarily
correspond to Ctrl+*. For example, on a Swedish keyboard, it's Ctrl+(.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Thanks, Stefan. I can never remember whether it's Ctrl+Shift+8 on all
keyboards or Ctrl+* on all keyboards. You've reminded me that it's the
former rather than the latter.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[LisaR]

Sorry to take so long to get back about this--I'm swamped with work.

The shortcut is set as Ctrl + *. But it doesn't matter what number I type,
and I'm not pressing control or shift at all. It's maddening, and if I turn
it off it comes right back on with the next number I type. It seems to occur
only when I'm correcting numbering on numbered items that have been picked up
(via copy/paste) from material that has been backed out of InDesign (I think
that's the source program).

I've got 23 more chapters to edit, and I don't have the time (or the
patience) to keep fighting this battle. I'm not the one inserting this text
into the document, it's happening at the writer level, and it's a problem for
the writers as well.

-LisaR

Any additional he

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If any of the pasted text includes XE or TC fields, then Word may be
displaying Hidden text (and other formatting marks) automatically.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org