Typing in Boxes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 13, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


3

Word is acting strangely all of a sudden. Whenever Laurel creates a new document, a rectangular box appears at the top, every time. She can only type in that box and lines appear when she presses Enter to start a new paragraph. Thinking it was a problem with the Normal template, Laurel replaced it with a friend's, but that didn't work. She wonders what is causing this behavior.

Taking the step to try a new Normal template was good; that ruled out the problem being related to borders being turned on for the Normal style. The next most likely culprit is what Word refers to as Text Boundaries. This feature, if enabled, displays bothersome boxes around your text. Here is how you can control the feature:

  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 through the options until you see the Show Document Content section. (You'll need to scroll down a ways.) (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.

  5. Use the Show Text Boundaries check box to control whether Word uses text boundaries or not. Click on the check box to turn the feature on and off; a check in the box means it is enabled.
  6. Click on OK.

Once you turn off the Text Boundaries, the boxes should disappear entirely; they will not remain around anything you previously typed.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13833) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Deleting a Header or Footer

When working with existing documents, you may need to delete a header or footer previously created. Here's how you can do ...

Discover More

Showing RGB Colors in a Cell

Excel allows you to specify the RGB (red, green, and blue) value for any color used in a cell. Here's a quick way to see ...

Discover More

Creating a Dated Backup File

As you are developing your workbooks, you might want a way to automatically create backup files that include a date and ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Changing Measurement Units

When working in Word's dialog boxes, most people understand that you should enter measurements using inches. If you don't ...

Discover More

Turning Off Paste Options

Paste information into a document and you'll immediately see a small icon next to the pasted information. This icon ...

Discover More

Turning Off the 'Welcome Back' Notice

When you open a document that you previously edited, Word displays a message the right side of the screen about jumping ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine minus 9?

2022-11-11 11:23:30

Shade

This is very helpful. It worked for a client I was trying to help. Thank you


2021-03-15 12:00:44

Daniel

I'm having the same trouble.
My Normal blank document has a text box around the cursor.
I tried what is outlined above but it didn't help.


2021-03-15 08:45:31

Lorraine DeCesare

This is happening to me too - it puts the copied text in a text box. This did not fix it. Sometimes, you don’t see it is in a box unless the you pâté at a bottom of a page and the text stays in the box. If I paste as text, lose all formats, the box is gone but I have to reformat.


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.