Display non-printable characters in Microsoft Outlook

The provided translation does not contain any duplicate or untranslated content. Here is the complete translated result while maintaining the HTML structure: "Characters that do not print help identify formatting issues and maintain consistency in emails. To activate non-printing characters in Classic Outlook, click on "¶" or press Ctrl+Shift+8. Unfortunately, new Outlook does not display non-printing characters, but there are other methods to monitor layout. It has been confirmed that there is no ad in the specific area!

Non-print characters are formatting symbols that indicate how an email should be arranged. They help identify awkward formatting issues and maintain consistency, making it easier to make accurate corrections before sending the email.

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Non-print Characters in Classic Outlook

If you are using Classic Outlook, you can display non-printing characters when composing new messages or replies. Position the cursor within the email body and move to the "Format Text" tab then click on the "¶" icon. Alternatively, press Ctrl+Shift+8.

To hide them again, click on the same icon or use the same keyboard shortcut.

Classic Outlook displays most important non-printing characters. These include:

• ·Space (spacebar)
• → Press Tab to tab (Tab key)
• Enter to input a paragraph.
• <br> for line break (Shift+Enter),
• ° for fixed space (Ctrl+Shift+Space).

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These characters assist in layout and formatting, so they do not appear when recipients or the email is opened. As the name suggests, they do not appear on printed pages.

Non-print Characters in New Outlook

One of the many shortcomings of new Outlook is that it cannot display non-printing characters when composing messages until December 2024. This also applies to web browser versions of mail clients regardless of whether they are Classic or Simplified Ribbon.

Until Microsoft decides to reintroduce non-printing characters in the new Outlook desktop app (the sooner, the better!), you can write your email content in Microsoft Word. Here, you can display non-print characters using the "¶" icon at the bottom of the Home tab or press Ctrl+Shift+8.

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After entering your content, press Ctrl+A to select and copy it, then paste it back into Outlook. Review the simple characters at that location to ensure they are correct.

Another option is to adjust Outlook editor settings to use non-printing characters instead of other methods for identifying issues when problems arise. To start a new message or reply, move to the "Options" tab and click on the "Editor" dropdown menu then select "Editor Settings".

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Then, enable editor settings that can be used as an emergency substitute. For example, the "Space" non-printing character in Word helps identify when two spaces were accidentally entered. Therefore, selecting the "Spacing" option in the grammar settings will allow this error to be identified correctly when clicking the "OK" button while editing your email draft.

You can modify your email's paragraph formatting settings from the "Format Text" tab to handle cases where there are no paragraph symbols (¶). For example, by clicking on "Add space after paragraphs," you may not need to press Enter twice to create a space between paragraphs.

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This will make it easier to distinguish differences without non-print characters for items number 1 (represented in the screenshot below as paragraph separators) and number 2 (represented in the screenshot below as line breaks).

If you are a fan of non-print characters and find it inconvenient that I cannot access new Outlook, please move to the "Help" tab on the toolbar and click on "Support." You can then submit your suggestion directly to the Microsoft product team.