Word 2003

When I open MS Word, I have a strange symbol on the page. It looks like a musical note or something. I can not delete it and it does not print when documents are printed. It does not copy either when I copy. If I hit enter, another "symbol" appears. As I type, the symbol moves to the right of the curser. I also have dots (.) when I hit the space bar. Again, they do not print or copy.

I have tried to repair and I have re-installed. All the other programs in MS Office seem to be working fine.

Any suggestions on what has happened? It appeared yesterday for the first time when my kids started their homework.

 

there should be a button with a similar icon then that strange symbol that says show/hide those are non printing marks to help with proof reading.

 

thanks, i was going nuts trying to figure out what that was

 

Here's some detailed info on that feature: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HP030894821033.aspx. Expand the item on that page for Formatting marks.