Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Controlling the Hidden Text Attribute.

Controlling the Hidden Text Attribute

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 1, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Word allows a rich set of formatting attributes for text in a document. When creating a macro, you can control whether the selected text is formatted as hidden text by using the Hidden statement. The syntax is as follows:

Selection.Font.Hidden = toggle

where toggle is either False (turns off the hidden attribute) or True (turns on the hidden attribute).

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (5652) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Controlling the Hidden Text Attribute.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Footnotes in Two Columns

When laying out how your printed pages will look, you might want to place your footnotes into more than one column. This ...

Discover More

Smart Quotes are Incorrectly Replaced

Not able to replace smart quotes as you want? Here are some ways that you can be sure that every smart quote is changed, ...

Discover More

Can't Select and Edit Graphics Elements

Adding graphics to your documents can make them livelier and easier to understand. What if you can't select and edit the ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Turning Off Screen Updating

When working with macros, you can often speed up processing by turning off the updating of the screen. Best news is that ...

Discover More

Occurrences of a Text String within a Document

You may have a need to find out how many times a certain text string occurs within a document. You can find out manually ...

Discover More

Repeating Actions

Need to repeat an action a whole bunch of times? You can do it a time or two using keyboard shortcuts, but you'll need a ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is four less than 5?

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.