Sometimes Word documents seem to more or less break, usually when the layout has gotten quite complex and the document has changed hands and/or versions a couple of times. Symptoms may be that nothing happens when pressing the backspace or Enter keys in a certain location of the document where it really should work, or that the formatting seems to apply and reset itself more or less randomly. I think we've all been there.Often it can be very hard to know exactly what is wrong, since what happens under the hood in Word is quite opaque. You could have a document that looks empty, but in reality the underlying state regarding formatting etc can be quite complex.In these cases it would be useful to peek at the source code behind what is shown on the page; like how you in a browser could do View Source, and ideally be able to do edits directly in the source code, like how you would do when using Latex. **Is there a View Source-type command or utility for Microsoft Word documents?**My guess is that there is no such command, or I would have heard about it. If that is the case, **does anyone have any good approach when it comes to getting a grip on annoying "hidden formatting" in a Word document**?I suspect there might be some differences in the .doc and .docx formats; I am interested in both cases.Best regards,Filip
The closest thing to a View Source function in Word is the Show/Hide Paragraph button in the Main Menu. Selecting this button will show all of the hidden formatting in your document, including paragraph breaks and line breaks. Just look for the button with this symbol ¶ .
