Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Turning Off Highlighter Display.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 16, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365
The highlighter tool in Word is helpful for when you are developing and editing your manuscript. There may be times, however, when you want to print a "clean" version of your manuscript, without the marks. You could, of course, remove all the highlighting marks and then reapply them after printing, but that would be very tedious. Instead, you can follow these steps to suppress the display of the highlighting you previously applied to text:
Figure 1. The Display options of the Word Options dialog box.
You will notice that the highlighting in your document immediately disappears, but the text remains. When you are again ready to view your highlighting marks, simply reverse the above process. If you print your document with the highlighting turned off, the marks will not appear on the printout either.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9830) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Turning Off Highlighter Display.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!
You can highlight words and phrases in your document, much the same as you can mark printed words and phrases with a ...
Discover MoreWhen you format bulleted lists or numbered lists, you may be surprised if some of the bullets or numbers don't match the ...
Discover MorePoints are the common unit of measure for typefaces in the printing industry. They are also used quite often in Word. ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2022-11-11 08:42:50
Brooke
Thank you for this tip. My patience was growing thin as none of the search phrases I used yielded the desired how-to. I appreciate the clear instructions for resolution.
2022-04-16 11:39:16
Michael Kelly
This is a great tip!
First, it accomplishes the function as described.
But, it also illustrates the point of using the Highlighter function as opposed to using another way of changing the background color, such as with a style. Namely, to be able to suppress all uses of these background colors from the options dialog box. And, of course, a macro to toggle Highlighter marks can be added to the tool bar.
Thanks!
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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:
Comments