(Credit: Microsoft)
Microsoft obviously thinks it’s helping you by formatting your documents automatically. For me, at least, its automatic formatting produces mostly annoyance. Have you had the experience of finding that a horizontal line suddenly appears below a paragraph, and you can’t figure out how to delete it? Here’s how to remove one of those pesky horizontal lines, and how to prevent Word from inserting them.
If you type three or more hyphens on a separate line, Word will insert a horizontal line across the page, and, unless you’re an expert, you won’t know how to remove it. If you’re suffering from one of these intrusive lines, the trick is this. Click on the paragraph with the line below it. Go to the Home tab, and, in the Paragraph box, find the Borders icon, which looks like a four-cell table. When you click on it, you’ll see that Bottom Border is selected. Click on No Border, and the line will disappear.
To prevent this and other surprises from happening, in Windows, use File > Options > Proofing and click AutoCorrect Options. (On a Mac, use Word > Preferences > AutoCorrect.) Look at every tab and uncheck anything likely to cause surprises. In the AutoFormat as You Type tab, uncheck Border Lines to prevent a surprise horizontal line from appearing on the page. I also get rid of automatic numbered lists and a few other things, but you should let your taste be your guide.