WD: Underline Formatting Does Not Appear at End of Line

ID: Q97793

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a
Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a
Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

SYMPTOMS

In Word, you cannot apply underline character formatting to a line that contains only spaces. If you attempt to apply this type of formatting to a space character, the underline is not displayed or printed.

NOTE: In Microsoft Word 6.x for Windows or Macintosh, and Microsoft Word for Windows 95 version 7.x, empty form fields at the end of a line exhibit the same behavior as spaces. However, in Word 98 Macintosh Edition, this behavior does not occur.

CAUSE

There must be at least one character other than a space at the end of a line for underline formatting to appear. Similarly, underline character formatting does not appear on spaces following the last character on a line.

WORKAROUND

Use one of the following procedures to extend an underline past the end of text on a line:

Type at least one non-breaking space at the end of the line where you want the underline to stop. To type a non-breaking space, press CTRL+SHIFT+SPACEBAR.
```
    -or-
```
Set a right-aligned tab stop at the position where you want the underline to stop. Apply underline formatting to the tab.
```
    -or-
```
Set a right-aligned tab stop with a solid, underscore leader. To do this, click to select the Leader 4 option button in the Tabs dialog box (Format menu).

If you apply hidden and underline character formatting to text, the underline formatting appears on the screen but it is neither displayed in print preview nor printed.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Guide," version 2.0, pages 18, 19, 90, 91, 144-146, 178-183.

"Microsoft Word for Windows User's Reference," version 1.x, pages 33- 35, 77, 177, 382.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q145149
   TITLE     : How to Create Ruling Lines or Blank Underlines in Word

Additional query words: 8.0

Keywords          : wordnt word8 macword98 winword ntword macword word6 winword2 word7 word95 kbformat 
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a; MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,98
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: December 23, 1998