Paragraph symbol that looks like Euro symbol?

[Bothell writer]

I'm working with a WORD 2003 manual that was converted from FrameMaker. In
the tables (and only in tables), the paragraph marker looks like a Euro
symbol. I'm using Belizio font as my Normal font. I haven't been able to
change this Euro paragraph marker to the usual paragraph marker.

Will this Euro paragraph marker cause any problems down the road? The file
will be PDF'ed.

If so, how do I change it?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Every font has its own rendition of the paragraph mark. Some are decidedly
odd-looking. Provided it represents an Enter, the way it is rendered won't
make any difference. If you apply Times New Roman to just the paragraph mark
and it looks normal, then don't worry about it.

The paragraph marks don't print, so they shouldn't affect a PDF in any way.
If you want to use the paragraph mark character as a character and want one
that looks more traditional, then format it with a different font.

 

[Bothell writer]

Thanks, Suzanne! It looked a bit strange and I didn't want to turn the file
over to the client this way, so I applied Times New Roman and the paragraph
marker went away entirely.
Appreciate your help!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

That's a bit worrying; if you have nonprinting characters displayed, you
should see the paragraph mark as ¶. If they're not displayed, of course, you
won't see them looking like a euro or anything else.

 

[Bothell writer]

Suzanne,
Please clarify why it's "worrying." I've set it to show formatting marks and
it's showing the Euro symbol instead of the paragraph marker in tables that
are formatting with Belizio-Regular 9.5 font.

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

It might be worrying because it suggests that something is messed up, or at
least the possibilty that some characters might not be what you expect them
to be. However, if I apply the Benguiat Bk BT font to a table (for example),
it also displays the table paragraph markers as Euros. To me, this suggests
only that whoever conjured the Benguiat Bk BT font wasn't coordinating their
efforts with Microsoft.

If everything prints okay, then don't worry. But, if you use any characters
outside the normal array of letters, punctuation, and numbers, check
carefully to make sure that everything is displayed the way it should be for
printing purposes.

As to Euros for table markers, I guess that such tables must be more
expensive than the normal kind. Or, maybe it's assumed that the tables
are located in European casinos, in which case Euros for table markers might
be expected. The thought of having to pay a Euro for each cell in every
table I create would indeed be cause for worry... all seriousness aside.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

What I was saying was in response to your statement that "I applied Times
New Roman and the paragraph marker went away entirely." If you had
nonprinting characters displayed and weren't seeing *any* paragraph mark (¶
or euro), then I would be concerned.

 

[Bothell writer]

Herb, Thanks for confirming that euros were used for paragraph markers in
other fonts. It must be the unusual font I'm using.

You started my day off with a smile and day-dreaming about European casinos.
Very nice! Thanks!

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

Yes... that would be worrisome. If there are fonts in which the pilcrow
displays as a space, that would make such a problem hard to track down. But,
such shouldn't be the case with Times New Roman.

 

[Bothell writer]

Since the paragraphs were in tables, after changing to Times New Roman for
the paragraph marker, I'm seeing the square box used to denote end of table
text rather than any paragraph marker. Previously, I saw the euro symbol; now
I see the square box. So I think I'm fine.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Ah, yes, the "universal monetary symbol." If you look at it under
magnification, you'll see it's actually a circle with "ears." It's used for
both an end-of-cell marker and an end-of-row marker; see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/NonPrintChars.htm