How to stop Word Online from creating extra spaces

Question

When copying and pasting text from Word Online to other documents or into our LMS, extra spaces are added at the ends of the copied text. How do I make Word Online stop adding an extra space to selections?

As you can see in the images above, an extra space is not being selected. This behavior only occurs when copying/pasting text from Word Online. Regular Word and Google Docs, for instance, do not display this behavior, but our team needs to work collaboratively in Word Online, and the spaces multiply over time as versions are created. The browser used does not matter.

The AI chat bot has suggested I select "keep text only" when pasting within the document. This does work, but we often need to preserve formatting. Using Shift+Command+V when I paste content into the LMS, which should remove formatting, does not strip out the spaces. Any other ideas are welcome!

Answer 1

Hi,

Issues of Word online are not supported on Q&A at current, I suggest you post a new thread on Microsoft Answers Community: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_word?sort=LastReplyDate&dir=Desc&tab=All&status=all&mod=&modAge=&advFil=&postedAfter=&postedBefore=&threadType=all&isFilterExpanded=true&page=1

The reason why we recommend posting appropriately is you will get the most qualified pool of respondents, and other partners who read the forums regularly can either share their knowledge or learn from your interaction with us. Thank you for your understanding.

I personally suggest you check whether this issue persists if you paste content to other location, for example: Notepad. If not, this may be an issue with LMS. You may look for a setting similar to Office Smart Cut and Paste.

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