How do I disable tildes in my document

LibreOffice-25.8.2-Linux_x86-64_rpm.tar.gz

I am writing a document that freaks out the tilde option. It even show up in my table of contents. How do I get rid of this feature?

This does not work:

To turn off the tilde waves indicating multiple spaces, go to
→ Tools
→ Options
→ “Language and Locales”
→ English sentence checking
and check/uncheck the Word spacing checkbox.

Screenshot_2025-11-07_23-52-01

Just checking: Your paragraph is set to english language?

No, that is your default setting.
.
But even an american is allowed to use more than one language in any document, and therefore language is also a property of paragraph styles. (Think of quoting something Latin or French in an English document.) And for example by copy/pase or using foreign templates parts of your document may have different settings.
.
Check if something like English (US) is shown in the status bar in the bottom border of your window, when your cursor is in the paragraph with shown ~.

PS: As you now added a screenshot, consider setting your paragraph to language none

The blue wavy line comes from grammar checking. It can be disabled in Tools>Options, Languages & Locales>Writing Aids. Look at Options section.

The red wavy line comes from spell checking. It is related to text language. Since you’re inserting code snippets, use a dedicated paragraph style for it. @Villeroy already suggested using built-in Preformatted Text inside which you force language to None.

The bottom bar says nothing about language

If the entire document is program code, call the language options as you did in the screen shot, set “Western language” to “[None]” (first option on top) and check “Current document only”.

If paragraphs of program code are interlaced with human language:

  • Get the stylist window (F11).
  • Right-click > Edit paragraph style “Preformatted text”.
  • On the font tab, set the language to “[None]”.
  • Apply this paragraph style to your code snippets.
1 Like

About 20% on the document is programming code. I get this all over the place when I add my own indents spaces.

Attach a 1- or 2-page sample so that we can see what is wrong.

PS: avoid attaching comments on a deleted answer. This prevents the engine from erasing the obsoleted answer.

Working with templates and styles is the essence of any office program.

How do I turn the squiggles off EVERYWHERE?

To diagnose the cause of the problem, we need to have a look at your (technical) formatting. Attach the required sample file.

Turn off automatic spell checking (Shift+F7).

2 Likes

Try setting the Language for the selection/document to None
SetLanguageToNone

Here
sampleFile.odt (36.1 KB)
are two of the worst pages

Hi Villeroy,

That worked everywhere, everywhere except my tanle of contents. I tried deleting it and recreating it. No joy

Screenshot_2025-11-09_02-14-15

Place the cursor on the text ::$in.
Menu / Styles / Manage Styles.
A window will open with the Contents 3 style selected.
Next, modify this style as described in @Villeroy 's post above.

In your document, para style “Preformatted text” is US English. Change it to [None].
Are you aware that the squiggles do not belong to the document? They just indicate spell checking errors on the view layer. They are not exported, printed nor shown in the print preview.

1 Like

… and it would be better to use them, instead of insisting to hide them. E.g., in your table of contents, they show an inconsistency - some headings have a leading space, making them indented in the list. This is clear on your screenshot; and the check makes it obvious to those who value consistency and accuracy.

Hi All,

I used Villeray’s solution.

Part of the problem was I was trying to use LO as a text editor rather than a word processor. I did not because there was a chance I might have to paste some of it to a form that only accept plain text. When I realized how much I was using it as a work processor, I decided to user LO properly and use paragraph indenting.

Thank you all for you more than gracious help!

-T