Five Invisible Characters That Still Matter in Word Processing and Layout
In earlier eras of word processing, users were much more likely to encounter explanations of document structure—not because everyone had to become an expert, but because knowledge was shared differently. Software shipped with detailed manuals, user groups and training classes focused on how documents worked under the hood, and power users routinely shared mental models and tips. (Who remembers being turned onto WordPerfect’s Reveal Codes?) Today’s writing tools are simpler to use and much better at hiding complexity, but that also means fewer opportunities for users to learn that invisible characters even exist, much less that they have different attributes and consequences.
We’ll look at five invisible characters that shape how text behaves: the regular space, non-breaking space, tab, hard return, and soft return. You already use regular spaces and hard returns, but understanding the other three—and when to employ them—can help you create cleaner, more professional documents and troubleshoot layout problems.
How to See Invisible Characters
Nearly every text editor, word processor, and page layout app includes an option to show “invisibles” (the term may vary, but the concept is the same). When Show Invisibles is enabled, you’ll see dots, arrows, paragraph marks, and other symbols that represent normally invisible characters. They typically appear in a color different from the default text color.
Regular Spaces Versus Non-Breaking Spaces
Everyone knows what a space is—it’s a breakable separator between words. By “breakable,” we mean the next word can wrap down to the next line of text. A regular space expresses the default intent: separate words and allow normal line wrapping.
However, there are situations when you want two words to stay together because it could be confusing if the second one wraps down to the next line. In those situations, you can use a non-breaking space—inserted by pressing Option-Space on the Mac or (usually) Control-Shift-Space in Windows, and represented in HTML by . Word processors usually distinguish non-breaking spaces from regular spaces when showing invisibles—for example, Microsoft Word uses a small open circle for non-breaking spaces and a dot for regular spaces.
When would you use non-breaking spaces?
- Numbers with units: The most common use of non-breaking spaces is to keep numbers with their units, such as “1 TB” or “72 ºF.”
- Names with titles, and initials with surnames: Non-breaking spaces are also useful for names with titles, such as “Mr. Spock,” and for people who go by their initials, such as “J. K. Rowling.”
- Short phrases that function as a single unit: Some short phrases are conceptually one piece and should not be split across lines. This includes dates (“January 19”), times (“9:41 AM”), version numbers (“iOS 26”), and textual references (“Figure 4”).
If you are using page layout software, check whether it has character styling that keeps words together, such as Adobe InDesign’s No Break style.
Tabs Versus Spaces
Because spaces separate words, many people overuse them to increase visual separation between words and to align text, such as in a résumé with a job title on the left and the associated dates on the right.
Unfortunately, spaces work poorly for aligning text because most fonts are proportional, meaning a lowercase i is thinner than an uppercase W. Therefore, spaces can’t align text perfectly—not because spaces differ in width, but because the characters before them do. Ragged alignment in a printed document is easily noticeable and looks unprofessional.
The simple solution is to use a tab, which aligns to a fixed position marked by a tab stop. Pressing the Tab key inserts a tab to the next tab stop, which can usually align text to the left, right (shown below), center, or decimal point. Most apps have a few default tab stops, and you may never need anything different. However, you can usually customize the behavior and location of the tab stops. First, put your insertion point in the paragraph you want to work in, or select a swath of paragraphs. Then, either use the ruler to customize the stops or use dedicated tab controls, such as in Microsoft Word’s Format > Paragraph > Tabs dialog. More advanced users will want to customize tab stops within paragraph styles.
Although we can now use tables and layout tools for much of what tabs were necessary for in the early days of word processing, tabs remain useful in some situations, such as:
- Horizontal placement: If you want your signature to appear below a letter on the right, you could right-align the entire line, but a right-aligned tab stop gives you more control over where the signature appears.
- Simple lists: For a short contact list that includes name, phone, and email, setting a few tab stops could be easier than inserting and formatting a table.
- Quick outlines: When creating a quick outline, such as an agenda with left-aligned times and indented session titles, use tabs to create indentation. This preserves the outline structure and makes it easier to adjust later.
If you’re trying to align text rather than separate words, a tab expresses that intent far better than spaces ever can.
Hard Returns Versus Soft Returns
Most people understand hard returns, which separate one paragraph from the next. Pressing Return (Mac) or Enter (Windows) creates a hard return. For example, you’d put a return between a heading paragraph and the following body paragraph. Less well-known are soft returns, which start a new line within a paragraph, but do not end the paragraph. An important side effect of a soft return is that whatever paragraph formatting is applied to the paragraph will continue to apply to the new line. To type a soft return, type Shift-Return or Shift-Enter. (In HTML, paragraphs are marked with a pair of <p></p> tags, while soft returns use the <br> tag.)
The most common reasons to use soft returns include:
- Multi-line formatting: Some blocks of text are conceptually single paragraphs displayed across multiple lines. Think of postal addresses, poetry, and song lyrics.
- Maintain numbering or outline level: In lists and outlines, hard returns increment a list number or add a new outline entry, whereas soft returns insert a line break without creating a new number or outline entry. (HTML uses <li></li> tags to denote list items, but you can still use <br> tags within list items.)
- Narrow layouts: Soft returns are often necessary to force text down to the next line in columns, sidebars, captions, and callouts. They are a helpful supplement to non-breaking spaces.
- Intentional formatting: In multi-line headings, captions, and labels, aim to keep lines roughly equal in length, with the last line slightly longer than the others. Use soft returns to adjust line lengths as needed.
In short, use hard returns to separate paragraphs that are standalone units of text. Use soft returns to add line breaks within a chunk of text that is conceptually a single paragraph.
When Invisible Characters Cause Problems
Understanding non-breaking spaces, tabs, and soft returns is important because they can appear in your text without you noticing. Someone might have intentionally added them, or you might have accidentally included them by copying and pasting from PDFs or the Web. Some common invisible character issues you might encounter while formatting include:
- Short lines: If a line appears unusually short, it could be caused by a soft return moving text to the next line or a non-breaking space causing two words to wrap down together.
- Fragile alignment: If aligned text shifts when you change fonts or alignment, it’s usually because spaces are being used instead of tabs.
- Text gaps: If there’s unexpected white space between words, check if a tab is there instead of a space.
- Broken list numbering: In an automatically numbered list, broken numbering may be explained by a soft return being used instead of a hard return. Fix it by deleting the return between the misnumbered line and the one above, pressing Return to insert a new hard return, and repeating as needed.
Remember, you don’t have to type with invisible characters showing, but if your text has mysterious white space or odd line wrapping, you can likely resolve those problems quickly by viewing invisible characters and making sure they are doing what they should.
How to Ensure You Don’t Miss Reminders
Recording a task in Apple’s Reminders app on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad is just the first step—the app captures what you need to do—but what matters more is being reminded to take action at the right moment. (The most important step, of course, is following through, but that’s on you.)
Here’s how to configure Reminders to get your attention at the right moment, whether through time-based alerts, location triggers, or when you chat with someone in Messages. Particularly helpful is the new alarm feature in iOS 26.2 that ensures you can’t miss time-based alerts. We’ll focus on the iPhone here, but the iPad and Mac interfaces are similar.
Time-Based Notifications
The most straightforward way to be reminded is at a specific date and time. When creating or editing a reminder, turn on the Date and Time switches to set when you want to be notified. You can also enter natural language times in the title, such as “tomorrow at 3 PM”—tap the autocomplete suggestion to convert it to the actual notification time. Voice commands via Siri also work especially well, such as “Siri, remind me to call my mother at 8 PM.” When the time arrives, you’ll receive a standard notification banner on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch.
For recurring tasks, after setting a date, select an option from the Repeat menu: daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or custom intervals. Recurring reminders are perfect for routine tasks such as taking out the recycling or submitting weekly reports. (Medication reminders are often used as an example of recurring reminders, but they’re more effectively handled in the Health app.)
Early Reminders
Although reminders are seldom as time-sensitive as calendar events, where you can set multiple alerts ahead of the actual event, it can still be helpful to receive an additional notification to prep for the reminder’s time. For instance, you might want an early notification a week before “Cancel free trial subscription” to evaluate whether you want to keep the service.
After setting a date and time for a reminder, choose an item from the Early Reminder menu to receive an additional notification minutes, hours, or even days before the scheduled time. This gives you a heads-up that something is coming due without replacing the original notification at the scheduled time.
Alarms in iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2
For most reminders, it isn’t important that you start the task as soon as the notification appears. It doesn’t matter exactly when you cancel the free trial, as long as it happens before the renewal date, so a notification that remains on the Lock Screen is sufficient. But for other tasks, missing a notification would be a big problem. If the turkey needs to go in the oven at 2 PM so it’s ready for Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t want to get distracted by the football game and miss the notification.
To help, Apple added an alarm feature in iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that lets Reminders trigger full-screen alarms that behave like those in the Clock app. It’s essential for critical reminders that absolutely cannot be missed. Alarms only work for the person who created the reminder, even if the reminder is on a shared list.
To enable an alarm for a reminder, set a date and time, then turn on the Urgent switch. (It doesn’t appear to be possible to enable Urgent via Siri.) When the reminder comes due, instead of a simple notification banner, you’ll see (and hear) an alarm on your iPhone (and Apple Watch) with options to dismiss or snooze it for 9 minutes. The alarm will continue to sound until you respond, making it much harder to ignore than a standard notification. You can even reschedule snoozed alarms if necessary.
This feature can be a lifesaver for time-sensitive tasks like picking up a prescription before the drugstore closes, joining crucial meetings, or any reminder where a simple banner notification isn’t enough. We hope Apple adds alarms to the Calendar app as well.
Location-Based Reminders
Reminders can also be triggered based on where you are. Location-based reminders are ideal for tasks like “Pick up dry cleaning” when you’re near the cleaners or “Defrost the chicken for dinner” when you arrive home.
Turn on the Location switch when creating a reminder to choose from options like:
- Current location
- Saved locations like Home and Work
- Custom locations
- Getting In or Getting Out (of a car; these options require a CarPlay or Bluetooth connection to your vehicle)
For the location options, you can request alerts when you arrive or leave. To set a custom location, search for an address or point of interest. You can adjust the geofence radius to control how close you need to be for the reminder to trigger.
When Messaging Someone
If you associate something you want to remember with a particular person, Reminders can notify you when you’re communicating with them in Messages. It’s perfect for things you want to mention but aren’t important enough to warrant starting a conversation—“Ask John about their new puppy.”
When editing a reminder, enable When Messaging and select a contact. The next time you open a Messages conversation with that person, a notification will appear reminding you of the task.
Choosing the Right Alert Method
Each notification type serves different purposes:
- Time-based notifications work well for scheduled tasks and deadlines, with early reminders for advance warning and alarms for critical tasks that can’t be missed.
- Location-based reminders are ideal for errands and place-specific tasks.
- When Messaging ensures you remember to discuss something with a specific person.
By combining these options, you can ensure that essential tasks receive the attention they deserve and are delivered in the way most likely to prompt action.
Upgrade to macOS 26 Tahoe When You’re Ready
Apple has now sufficiently refined macOS 26 Tahoe to make an upgrade worthwhile for interested users. You don’t need to upgrade immediately, but there are no strong reasons for most people to delay further.
Unlike last year, when Apple was releasing new Apple Intelligence features with each macOS 15 Sequoia update, the company launched nearly all the promised new features in Tahoe with version 26.0. There’s no need to wait for the more personalized Siri upgrade Apple promised for 2026—we won’t know how good it is until it ships.
Tahoe is now stable and polished enough for most users to upgrade with confidence, particularly on Apple silicon Macs. While there are some minor concerns—such as dissatisfaction with Liquid Glass, higher baseline resource usage, a few battery and performance issues, and the removal of Launchpad—none are deal-breakers. Of course, Apple will continue releasing macOS updates in 2026. You can expect macOS 26.3 in January, 26.4 in late March or early April, and 26.5 in May, along with several security and bug-fix updates in between.
Although Tahoe is ready for prime time, you can still delay the upgrade as long as you’re running macOS 14 Sonoma or macOS 15 Sequoia and are staying current with Apple’s security updates. Older macOS versions no longer receive security fixes, making them more vulnerable to attacks. Possible reasons to continue delaying include:
- You’re too busy: The upgrade process will take a few hours, plus some additional time to configure everything properly afterward. When you’re ready to upgrade, aim for when a little downtime won’t be a problem.
- You rely on incompatible software: Most modern apps should now be updated for Tahoe—Adobe recently qualified its Creative Cloud apps. But if a necessary app is known to have issues, you’ll need to wait for an update or find an alternative that works.
Despite the visual changes from Liquid Glass, using Tahoe remains straightforward—it’s still macOS. Even if you’re not an immediate fan of Liquid Glass, Tahoe has new features that might appeal to you. Control Center is now fully customizable, and you can make folders easier to identify by assigning them colors and badges. Spotlight has become an even better app and action launcher, and it now includes access to your clipboard history, a feature previously available only with third-party software. The Phone app has come to the Mac, allowing you to make and take phone calls on your Mac as long as your iPhone is nearby. Live Translation automatically translates text in Messages, provides translated captions in FaceTime, and offers real-time spoken translations in the Phone app.
Before You Upgrade
Once you’ve decided to upgrade to Tahoe, you have three main tasks:
- Update apps: Make sure all your apps are up to date. If you regularly delay updates, now’s the time to let them complete so you have Tahoe-compatible versions.
- Clear space: Tahoe may require up to 25 GB of free space to upgrade, and the Tahoe installer itself can take up to 17 GB, so we recommend ensuring you have at least 50 GB free. Don’t cut this close—you should always have at least 10–20% free space for virtual memory, cache files, and breathing room. Check by choosing System Settings > General > Storage; in earlier versions of macOS, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu and click Storage. System Settings provides quick ways to free up space. For iCloud Drive users, another easy way to save space is to Control-click large folders and choose Remove Download to “evict” the local versions of those files temporarily; Box, Dropbox, and Google Drive have similar features.
- Make a backup: Never install a macOS update or upgrade without first making sure you have at least one current backup. Ideally, you should have a Time Machine backup, a data-only duplicate, and an Internet backup. This way, if something goes wrong, you can easily revert.
Upgrading
After finishing those tasks, make sure you won’t need your Mac for a few hours. There’s no way to know precisely how long the upgrade will take, so don’t start an upgrade if you need your Mac soon.
To start the upgrade, go to System Settings > General > Software Update in Sequoia, Sonoma, or Ventura (System Preferences > Software Update in previous versions of macOS), click the Upgrade Now button, and follow the prompts. For more help, see Joe Kissell’s ebook Take Control of Tahoe.
After You Upgrade
One reason to set aside ample time for your Tahoe upgrade is that cleanup tasks typically follow. We can’t predict exactly what you’ll encounter—it depends on your current macOS version and the apps you use—but here are a few scenarios we’ve seen before:
- macOS may prompt for your Apple ID password and your Mac’s login password. If you have multiple Macs, you may also need to approve the upgrade from another Mac signed in to the same Apple Account. Don’t worry that malware has compromised your Mac—these authentication prompts are normal.
- Some apps may request additional permissions even if you previously granted them. Again, that’s okay.
- If you use your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac and apps (and you should; it’s great!), you may need to re-enable that feature in System Settings > Touch ID & Password (or Login Password on a Mac without Touch ID). In older versions of macOS, it was located in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General.
- If you use Gmail, Google Calendar, or other Google services, you might need to log in to your Google account again.
- Websites that remember your login state will likely require you to log in again. However, if you’re using a password manager like Apple’s Passwords or 1Password, that’s easy.
- You might need to re-enable text message forwarding to your Mac. You do this on your iPhone by going to Settings > Apps > Messages > Text Message Forwarding.
With the housekeeping done, it’s time to check out all the new features in Tahoe!
