Office Settings & Configuration

How to Stop Outlook from Automatically Enabling Underline and Hyphenation

WPS Editor Oct 7, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to prevent Microsoft Outlook from automatically applying underlining and hyphenation to text when typing in the email message area.

How to Stop Outlook from Automatically Enabling Underline and Hyphenation

Product: Outlook for Microsoft 365
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Composing a new email message.
Observed behavior: When entering text into the message body, Outlook automatically underlines words and hyphenates text, behavior that does not occur in the subject or address fields.

Before you start

Ensure you are using the desktop application for Outlook for Microsoft 365, as the web version contains different settings menus. It is also helpful to open a blank draft email so you can test the formatting changes immediately after applying them.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable Automatic Formatting and Proofing in Editor Options

Adjust Outlook's built-in Word Editor settings to turn off automatic spelling, grammar, and auto-format features that cause unwanted underlining and hyphenation.

Microsoft Outlook uses a version of Microsoft Word as its default text editor for the message body. This means that many of Word's automatic formatting and proofing rules, such as spell check underlines and hyphenation, are applied to your emails. Disabling these specific triggers will resolve the issue.

Open Outlook Options

Launch Microsoft Outlook. Click on the 'File' tab in the top-left corner of the ribbon, and then select 'Options' at the bottom of the left-hand menu.

Navigate to Editor Options

In the Outlook Options dialog box, select 'Mail' from the left sidebar. Look for the 'Compose messages' section and click on the 'Editor Options...' button.

Adjust AutoCorrect Options

In the Editor Options window, select 'Proofing' from the left menu. Click the 'AutoCorrect Options...' button, then navigate to the 'AutoFormat As You Type' tab. Uncheck any rules that you do not want applied automatically, such as border lines or automatic hyphenation.

Disable Spell Check Underlining

Close the AutoCorrect dialog to return to the Proofing menu. Scroll down to the 'When correcting spelling in Outlook' section and uncheck 'Check spelling as you type' and 'Mark grammar errors as you type' to remove the automatic red and blue squiggly underlines.

Disable Automatic Formatting and Proofing in Editor Options

Version Differences: The exact location and availability of hyphenation settings may vary depending on your specific build of Microsoft 365. If a dedicated hyphenation toggle is missing, disabling the AutoFormat options will generally resolve the behavior.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Outlook only underline text in the message body and not the subject line?

Outlook utilizes Microsoft Word as its rich text editor specifically for the message body, which incorporates complex proofing, spell check, and auto-formatting rules. The subject and address fields are simple plain text fields and do not trigger these advanced Word Editor features.

Can I turn off the red squiggly underlines for spelling without disabling spell check completely?

Yes. You can uncheck 'Check spelling as you type' in the Editor Options > Proofing menu. This removes the automatic underlines while you type, but you can still manually run a spell check before sending your email by pressing F7 or clicking 'Spelling & Grammar' in the Review tab.

Where can I find the exact hyphenation toggle in Outlook?

Depending on your specific Microsoft 365 update channel, automatic hyphenation may not have a dedicated toggle directly inside Outlook's Editor Options. It is often tied to the underlying Word engine's AutoFormat settings or paragraph formatting configurations. Adjusting 'AutoFormat As You Type' is the best workaround.

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