What symbols are used to represent whitespace?

Spaces are shown as a middle dot (·), tabs as a right arrow (→), newlines as a paragraph mark (¶), carriage returns as (↵), non-breaking spaces as (°), and zero-width characters as ZW.

Does this tool send my text to a server?

No. All processing happens entirely in your browser using JavaScript. Your text never leaves your device.

What is the difference between a space and a non-breaking space?

A regular space (U+0020) allows line breaks. A non-breaking space (U+00A0) prevents the browser from wrapping text at that position. They look identical in most editors, which is why a visualizer is useful.

Can I use this for detecting mixed tabs and spaces?

Yes. Tabs and spaces are color-coded differently so you can immediately spot inconsistent indentation in code files.

What are zero-width characters?

Zero-width characters (like U+200B zero-width space) are invisible and take no visible width. They can cause subtle bugs in string comparisons, URL parsing, and rendering. This tool highlights them in a distinct color.

Whitespace Visualizer

Paste any text and instantly see all invisible whitespace characters rendered as distinct symbols.

Input Text

Highlight Options

Spaces · Tabs → Newlines ¶ Non-breaking spaces ° Carriage returns ↵ Zero-width chars ZW

Visualized Output

Enter text on the left to visualize whitespace

Symbol Legend

· Space (U+0020)

→ Tab (U+0009)

¶ Newline (U+000A)

↵ Carriage Return (U+000D)

° Non-breaking Space (U+00A0)

ZW Zero-width chars

Copied!

Summary

Paste any text and instantly see all invisible whitespace characters rendered as distinct symbols.

How it works

Paste or type your text into the input area on the left.
Choose which character types to highlight: spaces, tabs, newlines, carriage returns, non-breaking spaces, and zero-width characters.
The visualizer replaces each invisible character with a distinct symbol.
Color-coded highlights make each character type easy to identify at a glance.
Copy the original plain text using the provided button.
Use the summary panel to count how many of each whitespace type appear in your text.

Use cases

Debug unexpected whitespace issues in code or configuration files.
Detect trailing spaces or mixed tabs and spaces in source code.
Inspect copy-pasted text for hidden characters from external sources.
Verify that CSV or TSV data uses the correct delimiter characters.
Find non-breaking spaces or zero-width characters causing layout bugs.
Check API responses or log output for unexpected control characters.
Teach students the difference between whitespace character types.
Audit document formatting before submission or publication.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-09-19 · Reviewed by Nham Vu