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 Printing of Highlighting.

Controlling the Printing of Highlighting

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 8, 2025)

It is not unusual to use the highlighting tool to mark up a document for your own use. You may not, however, want the highlighting to print on your output. You can turn off the printing of highlighting by following these steps:

Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or later versions, display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
Click Display at the left side of the dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Display options of the Word Options dialog box.

Clear the Show Highlighter Marks check box.
Click on OK to close the dialog box.

The highlighting in your document should disappear. It is still there, but you have simply hidden it, so it is not visible. You can now print your document, and the highlighting won't show. To again display the highlighting, follow the same steps but make sure the Show Highlighter Marks check box is selected.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9477) 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 Printing of Highlighting.

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

Two Keys with the Press of One

Sometimes it could be helpful to have Word substitute two characters for the one that you type, for instance to replace a ...

Discover More

Editing an AutoText Entry

Once you've created an AutoText entry, you may believe that it is "set in stone" and cannot be changed. Not so! You can ...

Discover More

Starting in Safe Mode

By using a command-line switch, Excel can be started in safe mode. This means that the program is loaded with bare-bones ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Selecting Printing of Color Pictures

Do you want to control whether color pictures in your document are printed or not? It's not quite as easy as it may ...

Discover More

Upside-Down Printing

Putting words on the printed page is easy in Word. Rotating those words in different manners can be a bit trickier. This ...

Discover More

Printing Duplex for a Portion of a Document

Some printers allow you to print on both sides of a piece of paper. If you want to print a portion of your document ...

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 three more than 4?

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.