Lines appear when I tab. How do I stop this?

[John]

I am trying to do a simple indent of paragraphs in MS word, and keep hitting
the tab button. When I do, border lines appear, which I think were copied
with some other text. I would like to know how to remove such formatting that
is tied to the tab button. Is there a process to do this? Thanks-John

 

[Stefan Blom]

Do the lines print? If so, they could be tab leaders. Use the Tab dialog box
to clear them. You can double-click the tab stop on the ruler to display this
dialog box.

 

[John]

Hi Stefan-

It's also doing it when I try to insert bullets or a number list. Same
border lines. I think its in the format somewhere. Thanks-John

 

[Stefan Blom]

Where do you see the borders? Are they in the text: ______ (which is what I
assumed in my previous reply) or do they *surround* the text (as "true"
paragraph borders)? Which version of Word is this?

 

[John]

Thanks Stefan-

Not in the text. They surround the text (horizontal line above the text, and
horizontal line below), so it sounds like the paragraph borders? Using Word
2003

 

[Stefan Blom]

You can remove the lines via Format | Borders and Shading, Borders tab. But
note that if the border formatting comes from a paragraph style, you will
have to do more to get rid of them permanently. Since you are seeing the
borders with ordinary paragraphs as well as numbered ones, the source of
trouble could be the Normal style. Click Format | Styles and Formatting. In
the task pane, locate Normal. Right-click it and choose Modify from the
context menu. In the dialog box, click Format, and then click Border. Choose
the "None" option (on the Borders tab). Does this help?

 

[John]

Got it. Thanks much!

You can remove the lines via Format | Borders and Shading, Borders tab. But
note that if the border formatting comes from a paragraph style, you will
have to do more to get rid of them permanently. Since you are seeing the
borders with ordinary paragraphs as well as numbered ones, the source of
trouble could be the Normal style. Click Format | Styles and Formatting. In
the task pane, locate Normal. Right-click it and choose Modify from the
context menu. In the dialog box, click Format, and then click Border. Choose
the "None" option (on the Borders tab). Does this help?

 

[Stefan Blom]

I'm glad I could help.