If you are working on a long document with a lot of images, Microsoft Word may slow down. One way to make Microsoft Word faster is by temporarily hiding images, drawings, and text boxes.
Note that figures and tables may also be hidden, depending on their placement in the document.
In addition to improving Word’s performance, this process can also be useful if you want to hide images to focus exclusively on the text.
This tutorial is available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
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The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013. These steps don’t apply to Word for Mac.
How to Hide Images in Microsoft Word
- Select the File tab in the ribbon.
- Select the Options tab in the Backstage view.
- Select the Advanced tab in the Word Options dialog box.
- Scroll down to the Show document content section.
- Select the Show picture placeholders option. This option replaces images that are positioned in line with the text with white boxes.
- Deselect (uncheck) the Show drawings and text boxes on screen option. This option completely hides drawings and text boxes as well as images positioned with text wrapping, meaning they have text wrapped around them.
- Select the OK button.
Your images that are positioned in line with the text should replaced by boxes, and your images positioned with text wrapping should be hidden completely.
Images, drawings, and text boxes will remain hidden in your current document and other Word documents until you return to the Word Options dialog box and deselect the Show picture placeholders option and reselect the Show drawings and text boxes on screen option.
Related Resources
How to Change the Color of the Interface in Microsoft Word (including Dark Mode)