If a Word document on your Mac has an unexpected blank page, odd spacing, or a heading that jumps, show its formatting marks first. In Word for Mac, press Command+8 or choose Home > Show/Hide ¶ to reveal paragraph marks, spaces, tabs, and breaks. These symbols are editing clues; they do not print. Find the mark near the layout problem before changing the document.

Turn on formatting marks in Word for Mac

Click in the document, then press Command+8. Press it again to hide the marks. You can also use the Show/Hide ¶ control on Word’s Home tab. Microsoft documents both the Mac control and the Command+8 shortcut for displaying nonprinting characters. (Show or hide tab marks in Word, Keyboard shortcuts in Word)

You may see dots between words for spaces, arrows for tab characters, and symbols at paragraph ends. Breaks appear with labels such as “Page Break” or “Section Break.” These marks show the underlying structure that can affect where text flows. They are not proof of an error: paragraph marks are normal, and a tab may be intentional.

Keep selected marks visible by default

If you regularly inspect document structure, choose Word > Preferences > View (called Word > Settings > View in some versions) and look for Show Non-Printing Characters. Select the kinds of marks you want displayed. These preferences keep chosen marks visible even when Show/Hide is off; use Command+8 to toggle the general display. Microsoft’s documented Mac path is Word > Preferences > View. (Show or hide tab marks in Word)

For a quick diagnosis, the temporary toggle is usually enough. To reduce visual clutter, turn the marks off again after you finish. Displaying them does not change the document’s content or formatting.

Trace a blank page or unwanted page jump

With marks visible, inspect the end of the page before the gap and the beginning of the next page. A manual Page Break can force following text onto a new page. If that break is clearly unintended, click just before it and delete it, or select the break itself and remove it. Microsoft notes that manual page breaks can cause unwanted blank pages and that the marks help reveal them. (Delete a blank page)

If you see a Section Break, pause before removing it. Section breaks can control layout differences across parts of a document, and deleting one in the middle can affect formatting. If the issue is a blank page caused by a section break, Microsoft recommends considering a continuous break where appropriate; first check why the section exists and whether its layout settings are needed. (Delete a blank page, Show section breaks)

A blank final page may also result from Word’s required final paragraph mark being pushed to a new page. That mark cannot simply be deleted. Microsoft suggests reducing its font size so it fits on the previous page; do this only when the final paragraph is the cause, and restore a readable size if the layout changes unexpectedly. (Delete a blank page)

Diagnose uneven spacing and misaligned text

Look between the affected words or columns. Repeated dots may reveal extra spaces; arrows may reveal tabs being used to align text. If a line looks uneven, compare it with nearby lines before deleting anything. Spaces, tabs, and paragraph breaks can all be intentional, so remove or replace only the characters that explain the visible problem.

If text is aligned with tabs, the tab marks expose where those characters sit, but they do not show whether the tab stops are configured as intended. Word for Mac has a Format > Tabs dialog for setting or clearing tab stops. Correcting a stop can preserve the tab-based structure; replacing tabs with spaces may create alignment that shifts when text or page width changes. (Insert or add tab stops)

Use this safe inspection sequence

  1. Turn on marks with Command+8 or Home > Show/Hide ¶.
  2. Locate the first mark at the point where the layout starts to go wrong.
  3. Identify whether it is a paragraph mark, tab, page break, or section break.
  4. Change only the mark or setting that explains the problem; take extra care with section breaks.
  5. Review the layout, then press Command+8 again if you want a cleaner editing view.

Formatting marks make invisible structure visible, but they do not automatically identify the right fix. Use the symbol as a clue, preserve intentional breaks and paragraph structure, and adjust only what matches the layout issue you are correcting.

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