Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Printing Hidden Text.

Printing Hidden Text

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 3, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


In other issues of WordTips you learn how you can control the display of hidden text on the screen. Word allows you to control the printing of hidden text completely independent from its display. To make sure hidden text is printed, follow these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button, then click Word Options. In Word 2010 and later versions display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. Make sure the Display option is selected at the left of the dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Display option of the Word Options dialog box.

  4. In the Printing Options area, click the Print Hidden Text check box. A check mark in the check box indicates hidden text will print.
  5. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10510) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Printing Hidden Text.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Excel's Background Color

Excel does not provide a built-in way to change the background color used in a worksheet. You can, however, try a few ...

Discover More

Creating Multiple Blank Documents in One Step

Word makes it easy to create a new, blank document. What if you want to create more than one document at a time, however? ...

Discover More

Automatically Update Document Styles Setting

Templates and styles are a great way to apply formatting consistently within and across documents. A couple of the ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Printing a Key Assignment List

When you create custom shortcut keys in Word, you may (at some point) want to get a printout of what those key ...

Discover More

Getting a Double-Spaced Printout

When working with printed documents, many people prefer to see the document double-spaced. If you have a single-spaced ...

Discover More

Booklet Printing in Word

Need to create a booklet with Word? Depending on your version, it could be as easy as changing how you print your final ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.