You don’t have to work hard to print content that you can’t see on the screen in Microsoft Word – just reset this default option.
Image: jejim, Getty Images / iStock
Most content is intended for display on screen and in print, but not always. For example, you want to print a specific header without viewing it on the screen. Fortunately, the solution is simple: apply a format to font and enable a document setting.
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I will show you how to hide text in the header of a document and then use a document setting to print it – although it is not visible in the document on the screen. This technique works with all hidden content.
I use Office 365 on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but the technology works in older versions. You can work with your own document or download the demonstration .docx or .doc files. The browser edition prints existing headers and footers, but you cannot change them or view them on the screen.
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Insert a header in Word
If you know how to insert a header in Word, you can skip this section.
Adding headers to a Word document can be a complex task, but for now you only have to insert simple text. To do this, double-click the document in the top margin – that top inch or so of white space – to open the header area in edit mode. If you do not see the white space of the header, you may have turned it off by mistake. If you think this is the case, read the Missing White Space section in Office Q&A: Placeholder Formats and Vanishing White Space.
While the header area is in edit mode, type the word Confidential and press Enter to move to the next line. Click Date & Time in the Insert group, and then click anywhere in the document area (outside of the header area) to close the header. At this point both headers are visible on the screen and they are printed. The next step is to hide the content that you do not want to display on the screen.
How to use the Hidden format in Word
You can add and hide text in any Word document. You may want to temporarily hide confidential information or even use one document to fulfill two or more roles. You can hide text and make it visible manually to determine what appears on the screen and in print. It is important to note that hiding text influences the layout and page flow of the document.
In this case, we do not use the format to hide and display content as needed; instead, we hide part of the header for online viewing and leave it that way. By way of illustration we apply the format Hidden to the word Confidential in the header of the demonstration document (Figure A) as follows:
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Double-click the header (or footer) to open it in edit mode.
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Select the text that you want to hide; in this case, select the word Confidential.
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Right-click the selected text and choose Font from the resulting submenu.
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Enable Hidden in the Effects section of the dialog box and click OK.
Figure A
Hide the word Confidential in the header.
When you return to the document (click somewhere outside the header area), the word Confidential is no longer visible (Figure B). If you were to print the document now, Word would not print the word Confidential, but it would print the date (which is not hidden). Let’s move on to see how we can print hidden text.
Figure B
Confidential is hidden, but the header still shows the date.
How to print hidden text in Word
Hidden text printing is not the mystery you could imagine: Word has a setting for it. Follow these steps to print hidden text in the current document.
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Click on the File menu and choose Options. In the resulting panel, click View in the left pane.
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In the Print Options section, enable Print Hidden Text (Figure C) and click OK.
Figure C
Turn on Word to print hidden text.
When you return to Word, click the File menu and choose Print. As you can see in Figure D, the header is visible in Print Preview, although it is not visible in the document. When you print hidden text in this way, Word prints all hidden text, not just the hidden header.
Figure D
The hidden header is printed.
Keep in mind that hidden text that you don’t want others to ever see is fragile – the Hidden format is not a form of protection, so don’t use it that way. If you have a clever trick regarding hidden text, share it in the comment below.
Send me your question about Microsoft Office
I answer questions from readers when I can, but there is no guarantee. Do not send files unless requested; initial requests for help that come with attached files are deleted unread. You can send screen shots of your data to clarify your question. Be as specific as possible when contacting me. For example: “Solve problems with my workbook and solve the problem” will probably not get an answer, but “Can you tell me why this formula does not produce the expected results?” power. State the app and version that you are using. I do not receive any reimbursement from TechRepublic for my time or expertise in helping readers, nor do I request reimbursement from readers who I help. You can contact me via [email protected].
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