Removing the Pesky %C2%B6 Symbol in Outlook: A Comprehensive Guide

Have you ever encountered the strange sequence “%C2%B6” popping up in your Outlook emails and wondered what it is and, more importantly, how to get rid of it? You’re not alone. This seemingly random combination of characters is actually a representation of a pilcrow symbol, often used to mark paragraph breaks, especially in text documents. While harmless, it can be distracting and visually clutter your emails, particularly when you don’t intend to display it. This article provides a comprehensive guide on why this symbol appears in Outlook and, crucially, how to remove it effectively, ensuring your emails look clean and professional.

Understanding the %C2%B6 Enigma

Before diving into solutions, let’s understand why “%C2%B6” appears in Outlook in the first place. This specific sequence is a URL encoding of the pilcrow symbol (¶), represented in Unicode as U+00B6. URL encoding is a method of converting characters, especially those not found in the standard ASCII character set, into a format that can be transmitted over the internet. When Outlook’s email editor encounters a pilcrow, typically introduced by copying text from other sources like Word or web pages or toggling the paragraph markers, it sometimes converts it to its encoded form when transmitting or displaying the content, leading to the %C2%B6 symbol. It’s not a bug per se, but rather a result of how Outlook handles the display and interpretation of certain symbols across different platforms and email servers.

Why You Need to Remove the %C2%B6 Symbol

While the %C2%B6 symbol isn’t technically an error, several reasons make its removal desirable:

• Professionalism: The presence of URL-encoded characters makes emails look less polished and professional. It can be particularly off-putting when you’re corresponding with clients or important stakeholders.
• Clarity: It can clutter your email and make it harder to read. The purpose of the pilcrow as a paragraph marker isn’t often necessary when reading emails, and its encoded form is visually distracting.
• Consistency: If you strive for visual consistency in your email correspondence, these rogue symbols can disrupt your intended design and layout.
• User Experience: If you’re creating an email template, these unexpected characters can confuse users and diminish the quality of their experience.
• Avoiding Misinterpretations: While most people will recognize the %C2%B6 as an encoded symbol, some might not and might interpret it as a random error or glitch.

Methods for Removing %C2%B6 in Outlook

Now that we understand the problem let’s explore various solutions to remove the %C2%B6 symbol in Outlook. We’ll cover solutions within the Outlook interface, along with some workarounds when working with copied text. Keep in mind that the specific interface might vary slightly depending on the version of Outlook you’re using, but the underlying principles remain consistent.

Method 1: Disabling Paragraph Marks and Formatting in Outlook

The most common cause for %C2%B6 is the display of paragraph markers or other formatting symbols being activated in your email composition. Turning these off directly often resolves the issue. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open a New Email: Start composing a new email message, or open an existing one where you want to modify the content.
2. Navigate to the Format Text Tab: In the email composition window, look for the ribbon at the top. Click on the “Format Text” tab. This tab will contain various options for styling your email’s content.
3. Locate the Paragraph Mark Button: Within the “Paragraph” section of the Format Text ribbon, you’ll find a button that looks like a pilcrow (¶), or in newer versions, it might look like a backward ‘P’. Hovering your mouse over this button will likely display text saying “Show/Hide Paragraph Marks” or a similar variation. This button is typically on the right-hand side of the paragraph section of the ribbon.
4. Toggle the Paragraph Marks Off: Click the Paragraph Mark button (¶). If it is currently activated, it will appear highlighted. Clicking it will deactivate it, and any visible pilcrow symbols will disappear from the content. Consequently, any %C2%B6 codes that were the encoded form of these pilcrow symbols should vanish as well.

Important Note: This step only hides the display of paragraph markers. They may still be present in the underlying code and might still get encoded to %C2%B6 during transmission if you directly copy paste from sources containing formatting.

Method 2: Removing Formatting with ‘Paste Special’

When you copy text from external sources (like a Word document, web page, or another email), it often carries hidden formatting that includes paragraph breaks and other symbols. Pasting this text directly into Outlook can introduce the pilcrow symbols. The “Paste Special” feature can help resolve this problem. Here’s how:

1. Copy the Text: Copy the desired text from the source (e.g., Word document or website) using Ctrl+C or right-click and select “Copy.”
2. Open Your Outlook Email: Go to the Outlook email where you want to paste the text.
3. Access Paste Special: Instead of pressing Ctrl+V to paste, click the small down arrow beneath the “Paste” button located in the “Message” tab (or sometimes located on the “Home” tab depending on your Outlook version) at the top left of the email composition window.
4. Select the Right Paste Option: A dropdown menu will appear. Choose the “Paste Special…” option. A new window called “Paste Special” will open.
5. Choose “Unformatted Text”: In the “Paste Special” window, select the “Unformatted Text” radio button. This will strip away all formatting, including paragraph markers that could lead to %C2%B6.
6. Click Ok: Click the “OK” button. The text will now be pasted without any of the problematic formatting that can cause %C2%B6.

Alternative: ‘Keep Text Only’ Option: Some Outlook versions offer a quick paste option under the normal paste menu called “Keep Text Only”. This will also remove all formatting and may be an easier and faster method than using the “Paste Special…” dialog box.

Method 3: Using Notepad to Remove Formatting (Alternative ‘Paste Special’)

If the “Paste Special” option is unavailable or proving problematic, using a simple text editor like Notepad (or TextEdit on macOS) can accomplish the same thing of stripping away unwanted formats. This is another effective method for removing hidden formats that might be causing %C2%B6 to appear in your Outlook emails.

1. Copy the Text: Copy the text from the original source using Ctrl+C or right-click and select “Copy”.
2. Open Notepad: Open Notepad (or TextEdit on macOS). You can find Notepad in your Windows Start Menu by searching for “Notepad”. TextEdit is located within your Applications folder on a Mac.
3. Paste Into Notepad: Paste the copied text into Notepad (or TextEdit) using Ctrl+V or right-click and select “Paste”. Because Notepad and TextEdit are basic text editors, they will only store the text content, and they will strip away any hidden formatting that might have been included with the copied text.
4. Copy from Notepad: Copy the text from Notepad (or TextEdit) using Ctrl+A to select all, then Ctrl+C to copy.
5. Paste into Outlook: Go back to your Outlook email and paste the text using Ctrl+V or right-click and select “Paste”. This will paste the text stripped of the formatting that can cause the %C2%B6 symbol.

Method 4: Search and Replace within Outlook

If you already have the %C2%B6 symbol in your email content, you can remove it through Outlook’s search and replace function. This is particularly useful when you have multiple instances of the symbol that would be difficult to remove manually. The “Search and Replace” dialog window is usually invoked by the keys “Ctrl+H”.

1. Open Your Outlook Email: Open the email that contains the %C2%B6 symbols you wish to remove.
2. Open the Search and Replace Dialog: Press Ctrl+H (or you can find “Replace” under the “Editing” section within the “Home” tab in Outlook) to open the “Find and Replace” window.
3. Enter %C2%B6 in “Find What”: In the “Find what” field, enter “%C2%B6”. This is the sequence you want to find and replace.
4. Leave “Replace with” Blank: Leave the “Replace with” field completely empty, you want to replace the symbol with nothing, effectively removing it.
5. Click “Replace All”: Click the “Replace All” button. Outlook will now scan through your email content and remove all occurrences of %C2%B6. A message will confirm how many replacements have been made.

Method 5: Check Email Settings and HTML Encoding

In rare cases, the consistent appearance of %C2%B6 symbols may indicate a potential conflict in how Outlook handles HTML encoding. Although this is less likely than the issues described above, some email formatting settings might contribute to this. Here are a few general settings you can check.

1. Outlook Options: Go to “File” then “Options” in Outlook.
2. Mail Settings: In the Outlook Options dialog box, go to the “Mail” section.
3. Message Format: Look for the “Compose messages” or “Message format” section. Specifically, review the settings under the “Compose messages” section to ensure the format is either HTML or Rich Text format. If you’re seeing recurring problems with HTML formatting including this one, you might want to experiment with different settings. Also check any advanced composing settings and whether any of these pertain to how special characters might be handled.
4. International Options: In the “International Options” area, verify that the encoding is set to a common standard like UTF-8. Incorrect encodings may sometimes produce unexpected behavior including displaying characters in their encoded form.

Disclaimer: These settings can be found in different menus depending on your Outlook version, but the core areas you will need to inspect are within the mail or message formatting options.

Method 6: Use a Third-Party Add-in (For Recurring Issues)

While less frequently needed, in situations where the %C2%B6 continues to appear despite trying the methods above, there may be issues related to how email is being rendered or formatted in your particular email client. In those cases, you can explore using a third-party Outlook Add-In designed to clean up formatting issues or manage how copy-pasting is handled in Outlook. There are many add-ins available which offer features like removing unwanted characters, reformatting pasted content, managing formatting issues, etc. Explore the Outlook add-in store and use suitable keywords to look for options.

Important note on Add-Ins: It’s always important to choose reputable add-ins from well-known developers to avoid any potential security risks. Always be careful when choosing to install 3rd party software.

Preventing %C2%B6 from Appearing in the Future

Now that you know how to remove %C2%B6, here are some best practices to help prevent it from appearing in your Outlook emails in the future:

• Be Mindful of Copy-Pasting: Always be cautious when copying text from other sources, especially if formatting is a concern. Use “Paste Special” or Notepad as an intermediary.
• Keep Paragraph Marks Hidden: Double-check that paragraph markers are turned off in your Outlook email editor unless you explicitly need to see them. This will avoid accidentally copying these markers into your emails.
• Use Styles Consistently: Use Outlook’s built-in styles to format your email text rather than copying styles from other programs. Consistent formatting helps avoid compatibility issues.
• Review Before Sending: Always proofread your emails before sending them. This will allow you to catch any unexpected characters or formatting issues including encoded symbols such as the one we are discussing.
• Email Templates: When working with email templates, make sure to clean up or paste without formats before using them to send emails.

Conclusion

The %C2%B6 symbol, while appearing cryptic, is simply the encoded form of a paragraph marker. By using the methods outlined in this article, you can easily remove it from your Outlook emails. Consistent use of the steps described here will ensure that your emails are always clean, professional, and visually appealing. By using some of the preventative techniques, you can avoid seeing this symbol in the future. With a little care and attention to detail, you can ensure that your emails make the right impression.

By consistently applying these steps and best practices, you’ll be able to maintain a professional and clutter-free inbox. Remember to experiment with these methods and find the workflow that best suits your particular needs.