why has my word document got grey boxes on it that I can't remove

A screenshot would be helpful, but if it is just that certain words are highlighted in grey, it could be that you have field shading set to "Always" at File | Options | Advanced: Show document content.

The grey boxes you are seeing in your Word document may be due to the Picture Placeholders option being turned on. When this option is enabled, Word displays grey boxes instead of the actual pictures or objects in the document. To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:

1. Go to the File menu and select Options.
2. In the Word Options dialog, click on Advanced.
3. Scroll down to the Show document content section.
4. Make sure the Show picture placeholders option is unchecked.

If the issue persists, it could also be related to the wrapping style of the objects or other display settings. Check if you are using a wrapping style other than In line with text and switch to that option if necessary.

Additionally, ensure that you are not viewing the document in Draft view or Outline view, as this can also cause objects to not display correctly.

If none of these solutions work, consider checking for issues with your video driver settings or display properties, as these can impact how objects are rendered in Word.

Dear @Julie Thomsen,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Could you please provide us more detail information as:

• Provide us screenshot of the grey boxes as you mentioned on Word
• Does it occur on which version of Word? (Web version or desktop app)

The more information you provide, the more we can support you effectively.

Please notice to hide these personal or organization information or some information to protect personal data when you attach screenshot.

We're looking forward to your update so we could support you to resolve the issue ASAP.

When I have a table with images in, the grey boxes appear when I move the table but I cant remove them. The above screenshot shows where the table was and now where it is, but the grey boxes are there.