Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Only Inline Figures Can be Seen and Printed.

Only Inline Figures Can be Seen and Printed

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 12, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


John has run into a problem where he cannot see or print any graphics that are not formatted as inline graphics. If the graphics are formatted so they are not inline, he can only see them in Print Layout view, but not any other view, and they do not print.

There are several things to check. The first is to make sure that you have Word configured to display drawings. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. Click Advanced at the left side of the dialog box.
  3. Scroll down until you see the section entitled Show Document Content. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.

  5. Make sure the Show Drawings and Text Boxes on Screen option is selected. (This option controls whether non-inline graphics are displayed or not.)
  6. Make sure the Show Picture Placeholders option is not checked.
  7. Click OK.

You may also want to check to make sure you aren't actually displaying your document in draft mode and that drawing objects are printed. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. Click Advanced at the left side of the dialog box.
  3. Scroll down until you see the section entitled Print. (See Figure 2.)
  4. Figure 2. The Printing options of the Word Options dialog box.

  5. Make sure the Use Draft Quality option is cleared.
  6. Click Display at the left side of the dialog box.
  7. Make sure the Print Drawings Created in Word check box is selected.
  8. Click OK.

If this still does not clear up your problem, check out this page at Suzanne Barnhill's site for some additional ideas:

http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/InvisibleGraphics.htm

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7981) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Only Inline Figures Can be Seen and Printed.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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