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Hyphenate text

Applies to: Microsoft Office Word 2003

Some of the content in this topic may not be applicable to some languages.

Do any of the following:

Show Automatically hyphenate all of a document

On the Tools menu, point to Language, and then click Hyphenation.
Select the Automatically hyphenate document check box.
In the Hyphenation zone box, enter the amount of space to leave between the end of the last word in a line and the right margin.
To reduce the number of hyphens, make the hyphenation zone wider. To reduce the raggedness of the right margin, make the hyphenation zone narrower.
In the Limit consecutive hyphens to box, enter the number of consecutive lines that can be hyphenated.

Show Automatically hyphenate part of a document

Select the text you don't want to hyphenate.
On the Format menu, click Paragraph, click the Line and Page Breaks tab, and then select the Don't hyphenate check box.
Click OK.
On the Tools menu, point to Language, and then click Hyphenation.
Select the Automatically hyphenate document check box.
In the Hyphenation zone box, enter the amount of space to leave between the end of the last word in a line and the right margin.
To reduce the number of hyphens, make the hyphenation zone wider. To reduce the raggedness of the right margin, make the hyphenation zone narrower.
In the Limit consecutive hyphens to box, enter the number of consecutive lines that can be hyphenated.

Show Manually hyphenate all of a document

Make sure no text is selected.
On the Tools menu, point to Language, and then click Hyphenation.
Click Manual.
If Microsoft Word identifies a word or phrase to hyphenate, do one of the following:
- To insert an optional hyphen (optional hyphen: A hyphen that's used to control where a word or phrase breaks if it falls at the end of a line. For example, you can specify that the word "nonprinting" breaks as "non-printing" rather than "nonprint-ing.") in the location Word proposes, click Yes.
- To insert an optional hyphen in another part of the word, use the arrow keys or mouse to move the insertion point to that location, and then click Yes.

Show Manually hyphenate part of a document

Select the text you want to hyphenate.
On the Tools menu, point to Language, and then click Hyphenation.
Click Manual.
If Microsoft Word identifies a word or phrase to hyphenate, do one of the following:
- To insert an optional hyphen (optional hyphen: A hyphen that's used to control where a word or phrase breaks if it falls at the end of a line. For example, you can specify that the word "nonprinting" breaks as "non-printing" rather than "nonprint-ing.") in the location Word proposes, click Yes.
- To insert an optional hyphen in another part of the word, use the arrow keys or mouse to move the insertion point to that location, and then click Yes.