This article is a consolidation of the following previously available article: 211272For a Microsoft Word 97 version of this article, see184143. For a Microsoft Word 7.0 for Windows 95 version of this article, see184142.

When you view your document in Microsoft Word, some characters may be missing, or the top (or bottom) of some characters may be cut off. This problem may affect the following types of characters:

  • Underscore

  • Character with an ascender

  • Character with a descender

  • International character that contains an umlaut, acute accent, grave accent, circumflex, or tilde

  • Object that is inline with the text of your document--for example, a picture that is not inserted in a frame or text box

NOTE: This problem does not affect printing; that is, underscores, characters with ascenders or descenders, and international characters are printed correctly although they may not be displayed correctly.

Symptoms

This problem may be caused by one of the following.

Case 1

The line spacing of your text may be set to an exact height. When you set the line spacing to Exactly and select a measurement that is equal to or less than the height of the font, underscore characters may not be displayed and characters that have an ascender, descender, or an umlaut may be cut off. For example, if you set line spacing to Exactly 9-point for a 10-point font, underscore characters may be cut off.NOTE: This problem may occur differently with different fonts.

Case 2

The printer driver may incorrectly substitute screen fonts at certain view percentages. If you change the printer driver, you may notice an immediate difference, depending on the view you are using.

Case 3

The zoom percentage that the document is set to may cause characters to have the top or bottom portion of the screen font cut off. You can adjust the zoom percentage from 75 percent to 100 percent in most cases to correct this visually.

Cause

This problem is a display-only problem. Use one or more of the following methods appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: Change the Document Zoom Setting

When you change the zoom percentage, Word may allow you to view the full height of your text. To do this, use one of the following methods depending on the version of Word you are using:

Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Word 2002, or Microsoft Word 2000

  1. On the View menu, click Zoom.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Under Zoom to, change to a larger setting. For example, change to 200% and then click OK.

    • Under Percent, change the percentage to a larger setting. For example, change it to 120%.

Microsoft Office Word 2007

  1. On the View tab, clickZoom in the Zoom group.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Under Zoom to, change the value to a larger setting. For example, change the value to 200%.

    • Under Percent, change the percentage value to a larger setting. For example, change the value to 120%.

  3. Click OK.

Method 2: Change the Document View

When you change the view of your document to outline view, Word shows the full height of your text. To change the view of your document in Word 2003, in Word 2002, or in Word 2000, click Outline on the View menu.To change the view of your document in Word 2007, click Outline in theDocument Views group on the View tab.NOTE: This problem may occur in normal, print layout, and Web layout views. When you view your document in outline view, paragraph formatting is ignored.

Method 3: Change the Line Spacing

Word 2003, Word 2002, or Word 2000

  1. Select the text and then click Paragraph on the Format menu.

  2. Do one or both of the following:

    • On the Indents and Spacing tab, change the Line spacing box to something other than Exactly. For example, change the Line spacing setting to Single.

    • Change the At setting to a setting slightly larger than the font point size you are using in your document. For example, if your font point size is 10 point, then change the At setting to 11 point.

Word 2007

  1. Select the text.

  2. On the Hometab, click theParagraph dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group.

  3. Do one or both of the following:

    • On the Indents and Spacing tab, change the setting in the Line spacing box to a setting other thanExactly. For example, change the setting in the Line spacing box to Single.

    • Change the At setting to a setting slightly larger than the font point size that you are using in your document. For example, if your font point size is 10 point, then change theAt setting to 11.

Method 4: Change the Font or Point Size

Word 2003, Word 2002, or Word 2000

  1. Select your text and then click Font on the Format menu.

  2. On the Font tab, do one or both of the following:

    • Change the Font setting to a different font.

    • Change the Size setting to a smaller size than what you have your line spacing set to. For example, if you have your line spacing set to Exactly 12 point, change the font size to 11 point.

Word 2007

  1. Select the text.

  2. On click the Hometab, click theFont dialog box launcher in the Font group.

  3. On the Font tab, do one or both of the following:

    • Change the Font setting to a different font.

    • Change the Size setting to a smaller size than what you have your line spacing set to. For example, if you have your line spacing set to Exactly 12 point, change the font size to 11 point.

Resolution

Line spacing determines the amount of vertical space between lines of text. Word uses single line spacing by default. The line spacing that you select affects all lines of text in the selected paragraph or the paragraph that contains the insertion point. The following table describes the line spacing options: This option Results in ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Single Line spacing for each line that accommodates the largest font in that line, plus a small amount of extra space. The amount of extra space varies depending on the font used. 1.5 Lines Line spacing for each line that is one-and-one-half times that of single line spacing. For example, if 10-point text is spaced at 1.5 lines, the line spacing is approximately 15 points. Double Line spacing for each line that is twice that of single line spacing. For example, in double-spaced lines of 10-point text, the line spacing is approximately 20 points. At Least Minimum line spacing that Word can adjust to accommodate larger font sizes or graphics that otherwise do not fit within the specified spacing. Exactly Fixed line spacing that Word does not adjust. This option makes all lines evenly spaced. Multiple Line spacing that is increased or decreased by a percentage that you specify. For example, setting line spacing to a multiple of 1.2 increases the space by 20 percent, and setting line spacing to a multiple of 0.8 decreases the space by 20 percent. Setting the line spacing at a multiple of 2 is equivalent to setting the line spacing at Double. In the At box, type or select the line spacing you want. The default is three lines. At The amount of line spacing you select. This option is available only if you select At Least, Exactly, or Multiple in the Line Spacing box. NOTE: If a line contains a large text character, graphic, or formula, Word increases the spacing for that line. To space all lines evenly, click Exactly in the Line spacing box, and then select the line spacing in the At box that is large enough to fit the largest character or graphic in the line. If characters or graphics still appear cut off, select a larger number in the At box. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

192973 Definitions of typography terms in Word 2000

More Information

Need more help?

Want more options?

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.