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To find text that looks missing on a white page, inspect its font color; in Word, separately check whether it has the Hidden formatting attribute. These are different conditions: Word’s hidden-text display reveals text marked Hidden, but it does not identify white font. Google Docs provides a way to inspect selected text’s color, but its cited help does not describe a whole-document white-text scanner.

First, distinguish white font from Word’s Hidden attribute

Text can be visually concealed because its font color blends into the page, such as white text on a white background. Word also has a specific Hidden font attribute. The two can look similar on the page, but they require different checks.

  • White or low-contrast font: Inspect the selected text’s font color, or use Word’s contrast review on supported Windows versions.
  • Word Hidden attribute: Turn on Word’s hidden-text display to show a dotted underline beneath text carrying that attribute. This does not establish that the font is white.

Check for white or low-contrast text in Microsoft Word

Inspect the suspected text’s font color

  1. Select the text that appears absent or difficult to read.
  2. Open Home > Font Color and inspect the selected color. If the text is white or otherwise blends into its background, choose a readable color if you intend to change it.
  3. If preserving the document’s original formatting matters, note the existing color before changing it.

Use Accessibility Assistant on Word for Windows

On Word for Windows, open Review > Check Accessibility. Microsoft says Accessibility Assistant flags text colors with poor contrast and suggests improvements. Its contrast checks can account for page color, table-cell backgrounds, highlights, text-box fill, paragraph shading, shape or SmartArt fills, headers and footers, and links. Treat the result as a screening aid—not a guarantee of a complete inventory or evidence that a flagged passage is malicious. Microsoft’s cited instructions apply to Word for Windows; they should not be assumed to describe the same availability on every platform. See Microsoft’s Accessibility Assistant documentation.

Check separately for Word’s Hidden attribute

  1. Open File > Options > Display.
  2. Under Always show these formatting marks on the screen, enable Hidden text. Word says this displays a dotted line beneath text formatted as hidden.
  3. To toggle formatting marks more generally, use Home > Show/Hide ¶.

This setting is documented for Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016. It shows the Hidden attribute; it is not a white-font detector. See Microsoft’s Word Options (Display) documentation.

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Inspect suspected text in Google Docs

  1. Select the text that appears missing or hard to read.
  2. Inspect the toolbar’s Text color control and use its color picker to identify the selected color. Change it only if you intend to revise the formatting.
  3. For keyboard navigation, search menus with Alt + / on Windows or ChromeOS, or Option + / on Mac, then search for text color.

Google’s cited help documents these manual color controls and recommends checking contrast; it does not document an automated, whole-document inventory of white font. Its accessibility guidance also cautions that screen readers may not announce formatting changes such as boldface or highlighting, so do not rely on spoken feedback alone to identify color. See the Google Docs screen-reader guide and Google Docs accessibility guidance.

Use contrast guidance as a readability check

Google’s accessibility page attributes contrast recommendations to WCAG 2.0: a minimum ratio of 4.5:1 for large text and 7:1 for other text and images. The cited page does not state a publication year for WCAG 2.0. These figures are contrast recommendations, not a feature that scans a Word or Google Docs file for white text. Google summarizes the rationale as: “High color contrast makes text and images easier to read and comprehend.”

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Choose the check that matches what you suspect

What you suspect Where to check What the check tells you
White or low-contrast text in Word Select text and inspect Home > Font Color; on Word for Windows, also run Review > Check Accessibility. The selected color, or contrast issues flagged by the Assistant; not proof of intent or a guaranteed complete inventory.
Word’s Hidden attribute File > Options > Display > Hidden text. Shows a dotted underline beneath text marked Hidden; it does not detect white font.
White or low-contrast text in Google Docs Select text and inspect toolbar Text color, or use menu search for “text color.” The color of the selection; the cited Google help does not describe a whole-document white-text scan.

Finding concealed-looking text does not, by itself, show why it was formatted that way. Check its color or Word formatting attribute before deciding whether it is an accessibility problem, intentional styling, or something else.

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