Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Make Microsoft Word Faster by Hiding Images

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Baby turtle on a skateboard with text overlay "How to Make Microsoft Word Faster by Hiding Images"

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.

Watch more than 150 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

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

  1. Select the File tab in the ribbon.
File tab in Word 365
Figure 1. File tab
  1. Select the Options tab in the Backstage view.
Options button in the Backstage view in Word 365
Figure 2. Options tab
  1. Select the Advanced tab in the Word Options dialog box.
Advanced tab in the Word Options dialog box in Word 365
Figure 3. Advanced tab
  1. Scroll down to the Show document content section.
Show Document Content section in the Word Options dialog box in Word 365
Figure 4. Show document content section
  1. Select the Show picture placeholders option. This option replaces images that are positioned in line with the text with white boxes.
"Show picture placeholders" in the Word Options dialog box in Word 365
Figure 5. Show picture placeholders option
  1. 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.
"Show drawings and text boxes on screen" in the Word Options dialog box in Word 365
Figure 6. Show drawings and text boxes on screen option
  1. Select the OK button.
OK button in the Word Options dialog box in Word 365
Figure 7. 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.

Picture placeholders before and after in Word 365
Figure 8. Image positioned in line with text before and after picture placeholder

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)

How to Change Page Orientation in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac)