July 30 2007
Hidden characters are included in every Word document.  Every time you press the Tab key, Spacebar, and Enter key a character for each is placed into your Document just all the other alphanumeric characters, but these are usually concealed from view.

These Hidden Characters sometimes cause formatting problems like when you can't align your text horizontally on the page or when an extra blank page prints at the end of your Document (see March 14 2005 Tip).

You can quickly troubleshoot these problems, but only if you can see these hidden characters.  Here's how:

In Word 2003 or older
In the Toolbar:
1. Look for the Hidden Character button
If you don’t see the Hidden Character button, click on the  in the Toolbar and find it there
2. Click it
-The hidden characters are revealed in your Word Document.

In Word 2007
In the Toolbar:
Under the Home tab in the Paragraph section
1. Click the  button
-The hidden characters are revealed in your Word Document

Now you can delete the extra Tab, Space, or stray Paragraph to get your formatting right!