Formatting Issues

How to Fix Word 2016 Displaying Spaces as Periods Instead of Dots

John Wilson Oct 1, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to correct a display issue in Word 2016 where space formatting marks appear as baseline periods instead of the standard raised dots.

How to Fix Word 2016 Displaying Spaces as Periods

Product: Microsoft Word 2016
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Viewing a document with formatting marks enabled to check word spacing and alignment.
Observed behavior: When formatting marks are enabled, spaces are incorrectly rendered as standard periods at the bottom of the text line instead of raised dots, caused by font kerning and ligature settings in the applied style.

Before you start

Ensure that formatting marks are actually turned on in your document display settings, as you need them enabled to verify if the spaces are rendering correctly.

Solution 1Recommended

Adjust Font Kerning and Ligature Settings in Styles

Resolve the display glitch by disabling advanced typography settings like kerning and ligatures that interfere with how formatting marks are rendered.

In Word 2016, advanced font properties applied to a specific paragraph style can sometimes alter the appearance of hidden characters. Turning off kerning and ligatures usually restores the normal raised dots.

Select the affected text

Highlight the text or paragraph where the spaces are displaying as periods.

Open Font settings

Right-click the selected text and choose 'Font' from the context menu, or press Ctrl+D on your keyboard.

Navigate to the Advanced tab

In the Font dialog box, click on the 'Advanced' tab to access typography settings.

Disable kerning and ligatures

Uncheck the box for 'Kerning for fonts' and change the 'Ligatures' dropdown setting to 'None'.

Apply and verify

Click 'OK' to save the changes. Reapply the style if necessary and verify that the spaces now appear as raised dots.

Adjust Font Kerning and Ligature Settings in Styles

Update the Style: If this issue happens throughout the entire document, you can modify the 'Normal' style directly to permanently apply these font settings.

Solution 2

Verify Formatting Marks Display Options

Ensure that your Word display options are explicitly configured to show space marks.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do my spaces look like raised dots in Word?

This happens when formatting marks are enabled. The raised dots are non-printing visual indicators designed to help you easily see how many spaces exist between words and identify accidental double spaces.

How do I quickly toggle formatting marks on and off?

You can quickly turn formatting marks on or off by clicking the paragraph symbol (¶) located in the Paragraph group on the Home tab, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+8 (Ctrl+*).

Does the kerning setting affect how my document prints?

Kerning subtly adjusts the spacing between specific pairs of characters for a better visual appearance when printed or exported to PDF. The issue of spaces looking like periods is just an on-screen display glitch in Word 2016 and will not appear in the printed document.

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