{"schema":"cpc-unicode-answer-v1","question":"Why does a zero-width space add no visible gap?","answer":"An invisible format character that can provide a line-break opportunity. Code points: U+200B. It is not a visible space and may be rejected, ignored or exposed in some tools. A non-equivalent fallback is \" \" (Visible separation). Adds visible width and different wrapping behavior. Font coverage, shaping, and application acceptance were not tested, so those results are unknown.","unicodeVersion":"18.0.0","purpose":"general","citation":"Do not invent a platform-support claim from this data.","page":"/answers/why-a-zero-width-space-adds-no-gap/","markdown":"/answers/why-a-zero-width-space-adds-no-gap.md","sample":"​","codepoints":[{"codepoint":"U+200B","name":"ZERO WIDTH SPACE","displayLabel":"[ZWSP]","warnings":["space-or-formatting","zero-width-space","copied-but-invisible"],"explanations":[{"id":"zero-width-space","title":"Zero-width space","behavior":"An invisible format character that can provide a line-break opportunity.","limitation":"It is not a visible space and may be rejected, ignored or exposed in some tools.","fix":"Remove it when unwanted; choose a visible separator if a user must see a boundary.","source":"https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr14/","alternatives":[{"value":" ","reason":"Visible separation","tradeoff":"Adds visible width and different wrapping behavior."}],"evidenceTier":"standards-informed-editorial","evidence":{"behavior":"standards-informed","compatibility":"not-tested","repair":"editorial-guidance"}},{"id":"copied-but-invisible","title":"Copied and still blank","behavior":"This character can be copied exactly and still look blank, because it has no visible width.","limitation":"A blank spot is not proof the character was dropped. A box is a different failure. Destination rendering was not tested.","fix":"Inspect the code point. Remove U+200B when a visible gap is required.","source":"https://www.unicode.org/reports/tr14/","alternatives":[{"value":" ","reason":"A visible space when a gap must be seen","tradeoff":"Adds width and permits a line break. Not the same character."}],"evidenceTier":"standards-informed-editorial","evidence":{"behavior":"standards-informed","compatibility":"not-tested","repair":"editorial-guidance"}}]}],"comparison":null,"graphemes":{"status":"available","method":"runtime-intl-segmenter","unicodeDataVersion":"runtime-unknown","count":1,"segments":[{"text":"​","utf16Offset":0,"codepoints":["U+200B"]}]},"normalizationChanged":{"NFC":false,"NFD":false,"NFKC":false,"NFKD":false},"normalizationUnicodeDataVersion":"runtime-unknown","targetCompatibility":{"status":"unknown","evidenceTier":"not-tested","purpose":"general","explanation":"No OS, font, browser, application, field policy or rendering engine was tested. Unicode validity and segmentation do not establish actual display or acceptance."}}