Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, 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: Inserting a Section Mark.

Inserting a Section Mark

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 18, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021

In legal and scholarly documents, it is sometimes necessary to use a character commonly known as a section mark. This character looks like a stylized S with a small circle in the middle of it. This character is not available from the keyboard, but can be inserted in a document in two ways. The first is to hold down the Alt key and type the numbers 0167 on the numeric keypad. The second method involves these steps:

Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
Click the Symbol tool and then click More Symbols. Word displays the Symbol dialog box.
Click on the Special Characters tab. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Special Characters tab of the Symbol dialog box.

Choose Section from the list of characters.
Click on Insert. The symbol appears in your document at the insertion point.
Click on Close.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7119) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting a Section Mark.

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

Printing Shortcut Key Assignments from a Macro

Need to know what shortcut keys are defined? You can use a single macro command line to print out the definitions.

Discover More

Changing the Position of the Dollar Sign

When you receive documents created by others, it is not unusual that you'll want to edit what they've written. For ...

Discover More

Understanding the WinX Menu

Windows provides a special menu that allows you to easily access many common tools in the operating system. Here's the ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

An Easy Way to Count Items

Need to quickly count a group of items in a document? Here's a drop-dead easy way to get that count.

Discover More

Replacing Random Text with Your Own Text

Word includes a little-known function that allows you to put "filler text" into your document. If you want this function ...

Discover More

Moving an Entire Page

If you are new to using Word, you may wonder if there is an easy way to move pages around in the document. Word, though, ...

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 two more than 7?

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.