Invisible & Whitespace Characters
Zero Width Space
A space with no width at all, used to allow line breaks inside long strings.
- Unicode
- U+200B
Try Zero Width Space
Edit the text, then change the font and size.
About this entry
What it is
A space with no width at all, used to allow line breaks inside long strings.
Breaking long URLs, or padding text that must not look padded.
Copy & use
How to copy and use zero width space
- 01
Copy the complete value
Use the copy button above so the value is captured without its label, description or surrounding page text.
- 02
Paste it where you need it
Breaking long URLs, or padding text that must not look padded.
- 03
Check the final result
Apps may trim, reject or normalise invisible characters to prevent abuse. A character that works in one profile field may disappear in another, and moderation systems can change without notice.
Behaviour
How zero width space behaves
You cannot see whether this character arrived, so the properties that matter are the ones you can test for.
- Width
- Genuinely zero width. It occupies no horizontal space at all.
- Line breaking
- This is its actual purpose: it marks a point where a line may break without inserting a visible space. Its main legitimate use is breaking long URLs and unspaced strings.
- How software treats it
- HTML sanitisers and text-normalisation routines frequently strip it, and search will not match across it — a word split by one is two words as far as the index is concerned.
- How to check it worked
- Because it is genuinely zero width you cannot see it even by selecting carefully. Paste it into a field with a character counter and watch the number move, or select across the spot and look for the highlight widening. Both work when there is nothing to see.
Common questions
Using zero width space
What is zero width space?
A space with no width at all, used to allow line breaks inside long strings. Breaking long URLs, or padding text that must not look padded.
What is the code point for zero width space?
Zero Width Space is Unicode U+200B. The code point is what makes the character stable: it stays the same wherever the text is pasted, even when a different font draws it at another weight or width.
Will zero width space work everywhere?
Apps may trim, reject or normalise invisible characters to prevent abuse. A character that works in one profile field may disappear in another, and moderation systems can change without notice.
Can I customise zero width space after copying?
You can add a short label, repeat compatible symbols or trim the design to fit. Keep important spaces, line breaks and uncommon Unicode characters intact while editing.
Also known as
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