Picture is not shown in word

«I am running Microsoft 365 on my Windows 10 computer. I need to insert PNG images into my document, but after I try to insert the pictures it is showing a box with a red x mark and the message «This image cannot currently be displayed.»

Many users experience an odd issue with their Word document regarding a picture or an object is not showing up in Word. Whenever you open the Microsoft Word file, you can see white spaces or rectangles instead of the images that you have inserted earlier. This is a common issue in MS Word 2007 and 2010. Though the problem can also occur in the later versions of Microsoft Word. 

Many MS Office users complained that they can’t insert pictures in a Word document. In a Word document, when I select insert, then picture, and select picture from my folder, it fails to insert. It only shows me a blank outline of the image but can’t insert the picture in Word.

Moreover, it can also happen with a Word file that contains an object or graphic image. If this is the case, let us understand why such an error is caused and how to fix the Word Document not showing pictures issue with a few easy methods. 

Table of Contents

Why does Word say “This image cannot currently be displayed”?

How do I Fix this “Image Cannot Currently be Displayed” Error?

1. Use the «In line with text» wrapping style option
2. Change the view of the MS Word Application
3. Enable the Show drawings and text boxes on-screen option
4. Enable Print drawings created in Word option
5. Disable Use of draft quality
6. Disable Picture Placeholders
7. Change the problematic Video driver settings

Why does Word say “This image cannot currently be displayed”?

“The images that cannot be displayed currently” 

The main reason behind the issue “This image cannot currently be displayed” in Word is using the “wrapping style” option instead of the «In Line with text» Option with the pictures in the Word document.               

a) Word Wrapping Style

Generally, Text Wrapping is used to manage well the text surrounding the image. However, in some cases using the “Wrapping style” option with your image might make Microsoft Word not show the images. Using the inline option might fix the error. Along with the Word Wrapping style, the following are a few other reasons that can also cause Word not to show images. 

b) Picture Placeholder is Enabled

In some cases even after selecting the inline with text option, your image might not show up in the Word document. It might be because the Picture Placeholder option is enabled.  Generally, the Picture placeholder is used when the Word document has numerous images or items. 

In conditions where word files have a lot of images can be hard to process for a low-spec computer. If you enable the Picture Placeholder option, it will cease all the images to display. Yet images will be in the same position, they just won’t be displayed. This is the best way to reduce the load on the computer. Disabling the picture placeholder might fix your error. In the following sections, you find the instructions on how to change the settings. 

c) Other Settings

Following are a few other settings that can be a reason behind the missing photos in the Word file:

• Word document view is set to Draft view or Outline View.
• If you Show drawings and text boxes on-screen preference in the Options menu is disabled.
• When Print drawings are created in Word choice is deactivated.
• If you have enabled the Use draft quality option.

d) Glitches in Windows Video Driver

Finally, your images on the Word document might not show up content or pictures due to any glitches Windows video driver. However, this is highly rare and there is no possibility of this happening.

In the following section, you will find every little detail on how to fix the error.  

How do I Fix this “Image Cannot Currently be Displayed” Error?

Try the below-explained troubleshoots to solve your Word document not showing pictures problem. The following steps are according to Word in Office 365. The steps will be slightly different for Word 2007 and 2010 but the results will be the same. The difference in Word 2007 is that there is no File option, instead, you have to use the Microsoft Office button. 

1. Use the «In line with text» wrapping style option 

• Click on the inserted image
• Switch to the Right-click on the image
• Click on Wrap Text

• Select In line with Text option

2. Change the view of the MS Word Application

If you are using Draft or Outline view, then select one of the following views:

• Print Layout
• Full-Screen Reading 
• Web Layout

In MS Word 2016 or Office 365 just go to View and select on Print Layout. 

For Word 2010: Click File, and then click Print.

3. Enable the  Show drawings and text boxes on-screen option  

• Go to File and select Options
• Click on the Advanced tab
• Scroll down to see Show document content
• Enable Show drawings and text boxes on-screen option

• Hit OK 
• If you are using Word 2007, click on the Microsoft Office Button and click Word Options. As in Word 2007, instead of File, there is a Microsoft Office button.

4. Enable Print drawings created in Word option 

• Hit the File tab and go to Options
• Jump to Display
• In Printing options, enable Print drawings created in Word option

• Apply changes

 5. Disable Use draft quality

• Hit the File tab and go to Options
• Jump to Display
• In Printing options
• Uncheck Use the draft quality option
• Opt OK

6. Disable Picture Placeholders

• Go to File and select Options
• Click on the Advanced tab
• Scroll down to see Show document content
• Uncheck Show Picture Placeholders Preference

• Hit OK 

7. Change the problematic Video driver settings

For Windows 10:

• Go to Desktop and right-click
• Select Graphics Properties and then in the next window select Video
• Change your Windows video driver color quality settings and screen resolution.
• Try updating the video driver as well if a new update is available 

If none of the above fixations help you, then there might be a possibility that your word file is damaged and as a result of that, it is not showing some content. In such situations, you have to adapt to a  Word repair tool to fix the error. To do so, try to repair your DOC file / DOCX file using the Remo Word Repair utility. The Remo Repair Word is capable of solving any issues related to the Word document, regardless of the reason behind the corruption.

The best possible way to avoid any kind of error on Word doc is by creating multiple copies as a backup. However, you should know for a fact that even those copies are exposed to issues. Hence, it is strongly suggested to have Remo Repair on your Hands to fix any word-related issues.

Asked by: Bernadine Simonis

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Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options. Click Advanced. Under Display document content, click to clear the Picture Placeholders check box. Click OK.

How do you fix images not showing up when you paste it in Microsoft Word?

Let’s try the following suggestions, please:

Why are my pictures not showing up on Microsoft Word 365?

1. Go to File > Options > Advanced > Show document content, check the box of Show background colors and images in Print Layout view, and uncheck the box of Show picture placeholders. 2. Run Word in the safe mode to have a check.

Which view in MS Word can’t display graphics?

On the View tab of the Ribbon or on the status bar, choose Print Layout view. Wrapped graphics don’t display in Draft view. Go to Office Button | Word Options | Advanced: Show document content and make sure that “Show drawings and text boxes on screen” is checked and that “Show picture placeholders” is not checked.

Why is word not letting me insert a picture?

If you can’t select Pictures from the Insert tab on the ribbon, your message is probably in plain text format. In Word, click on But it wont let me move pictures. Navigate to the location of the image file, select it, then select “Insert.” The image will now be inserted.

31 related questions found

Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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: Making Pictures Show in Word.

Have you ever placed a picture in your Word document, only to have the picture not be visible when you are later working in the document? This seems to be a common occurrence, and there are several reasons for this.

Word uses a «layered» approach to documents. Each document has several different layers. You are probably most familiar with the text layer, in which your text actually resides. There are two other layers, as well. First is the header/footer layer, which contains both the header and footer information that appears on every page in your final document. The other layer is the drawing layer, which contains graphic objects.

In reality, text can appear in all three layers of your document. For instance, headers and footers are composed primarily of text—text obviously appears in the text layer, and text boxes can appear in the graphics layer.

Similarly, graphics can appear on all three layers. People don’t normally place graphics on the header/footer layer, but they can. Graphics are much more common on both the text layer and the graphics layer. If you place an inline graphic in your document, it is on the text layer; if you place a floating graphic in your document, then it is on the graphics layer.

What does this discussion about layers have to do with whether pictures show up in Word? There are a number of ways to view your document, each accessible from the ribbon tools or by clicking on one of the View buttons that may be visible on the status bar, just below your document. Most people do their writing and editing in Draft or Print Layout views. If you are using Draft view, Word displays only the contents of the text layer of your document. Thus, any pictures residing in the header/footer layer or, more commonly, on the drawing layer are not visible. In order to see the pictures on these other layers, you need to switch to Print Layout view. Of course, some pictures are visible when working on your document in Draft view. Why? Because some pictures—inline pictures—are stored on the text layer, and this is the layer being displayed.

You can switch a drawing from the drawing layer to the text layer (or vice versa) by changing whether it is floating or inline. The easiest way to do this is to right-click on the picture to display a Context menu. The Text Wrapping option (Word 2007) or the Wrap Text option (Word 2010, 2013, and 2016) provide different options, including In Line with Text.

Note that you can switch a drawing to the text layer (make it In Line with Text) only if it is a picture that you placed in your document. If it is a graphic object that you created with the Shapes tool on the Insert tab of the ribbon, you cannot do this; the In Line with Text option is not available. Graphic objects such as these can only reside on the drawing layer. This is why Word switches to Print Layout view whenever you choose to insert drawing objects in your document—it knows that these are only visible in Print Layout view.

Despite the foregoing explanation, there are other settings in Word that can affect the visibility of graphics in a document. If you cannot see a drawing that you believe should be visible, you may want to check these:

1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 and later versions display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
2. Click Advanced at the left side of the screen.
3. Scroll through the advanced options until you see the Show Document Content section. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.

4. Note the Show Picture Placeholders check box. This check box controls whether Word displays any drawings, regardless of the layer on which they reside. If selected, then Word shows a «placeholder» for the graphic, but not the graphic itself. Set this check box according to your desires.
5. Note the Show Drawings and Text Boxes On Screen check box. This check box controls whether drawings are displayed or not when using Print Layout and Web Layout views; set it according to your desires.
6. When done, click OK to close the dialog box.

Another thing to remember is that Word treats different types of graphics differently when displaying them. For instance, if you are placing an EPS graphic in your document, and the graphic was not saved with a «preview,» then Word won’t display it, but will instead display a gray box that shows where the graphic will print. This type of behavior illustrates that graphic filters can affect what you see in a document.

Author Bio

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. Learn more about Allen…

Updated on October 28, 2022

MS Word is the most friendly text editor application which makes it possible to create, store or convey documents with specific information. One can include various objects such as text, hyperlinks, clip arts, charts, OEL objects, images, video, and a lot more in a Word file. However, images or any objects present in the Word file may not display due to a number of reasons.

Generally, Word document does show images or other elements when you are using the “Wrapping style” option instead of the “In line with text” option. So, first, check which option you are using and modify if the “Wrapping style” option is enabled as follows:

• Click on the respective image or element
• On the Format tab, select Text Wrapping in the “Arrange group”
• Click the In line with text option in the drop-down list

Other than this issue, pictures are not visible in Word documents when the “Show drawings and text boxes on-screen” or “Print drawings created in Word” option is disabled or the “Use draft quality option” is enabled in it. In a few events, while accessing the document file in the “Draft or Online view” view option, you may not find images placed in a particular location. So, try to enable or disable respective options in the Word file as specified previously and fix the problems.

However, even large size of Word file, virus attacks, improper termination of MS Word tool, or conflicts between objects embedded in Word document may cause this kind of trouble. In case, if Word file is corrupted because of these factors and displays images partially, then don’t worry!! Make use of accurate Word file repair application to fix Word document that does not show images on Windows computer.

How to Repair Word Document Not Showing Pictures?

Yodot DOC Repair is well-organized software which used to repair Word document (DOC and DOCX) that does not display images in Microsoft Office Word application. This tool thoroughly scans partial Word file and troubleshoot any type of its issues in simple steps. You can also
fix Word object corrupt no longer available error caused due to conflicts between various objects of Word document such as images, text, tables, videos, charts, hyperlinks, OLE objects and many more elements.

Steps to Fix Word File That is Not Showing Images Issue:

• Download Yodot DOC Repair program on Windows computer
• Run the utility and follow on-screen guidelines
• From the first screen, select corrupt Word document by using the Browse button.
• After selection, to initiate the repair procedure click on the Repair button.
• Then, this application scans damaged Word files, which can be observed in the progress bar.
• After completion, you can View a Word document with its file description.
• In the end, Save the fixed Word file to your desired location on the Windows system .

Q: Pictures not showing in Word, how to find hidden images in Word document?

«I have a four-page Word document with several images inserted. When I opened it this morning to see only white rectangles instead of pictures in the Word. Why are my pictures not showing up in the Word document? Are they hidden? How to show hidden images in a Word?»

Images or texts not showing in a Word document happens from time to time because they are hidden intentionally or unintentionally. This article shows you a detailed guide on how to show hidden images and texts in a Word document. What’s more, If you want to recover hidden Word documents and photos on Windows PC and laptop, you can use an ultimate EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard tool to help you make it effortlessly.  

How to Find Hidden Images/Pictures in Word 

When you can’t see a picture or image in a Word document, you can try the tips below to find hidden pictures or images.

Step 1: Open your Microsoft Office Word > «Word Options» in Word 2007. (Click «File» > «Options» in Word 2016/2013/2010.)

Step 2: Click «Advanced» on the left pane, uncheck «Show picture placeholders» under Show document content. Then you should be able to see your hidden images or pictures in Word document again.

How to hide images in a Word document? 

Sometimes you need to insert pictures in Word to supplement the text message. On the contrary, sometimes, when you just want to scroll and read text quickly, they can become an additional obstacle. In this case, you can hide pictures in your Word document with the «Show picture placeholders» feature. using the same steps above. 

How to View Hidden Text in Word Document

If you’ve hidden some text lines in a Word document, or some content was set to hide in Word, is it possible to show the hidden text content? How? You’ll find two options for showing hidden text in Word 2016/2013/2010/2007. (If you are using an older version of Word, please find more solutions from Microsoft Office support team or Google.)

Method 1. Show Hidden Text in Word 2016

The first way is to view the hidden text from Print settings.

Step 1. Open the Word document in Word 2016 in which you have hidden text.

Step 2. Go to «Print» settings and select «Page Setup». 

Step 3. Go to «Paper» settings, click «Print Options…».

Step 4. In Display, check «Print hidden text» and click «OK» to save changes.

By doing so, those hidden texts will only show up in the Print preview window. But still hidden in Word document. If you want to unhide text in Word 2016, follow the below tips.

Step 1. Press Ctrl + A to select all content in Word document.

Step 2. Right-click on content and select «Font…».

Step 3. Click the «Hidden» box twice, uncheck it and click «OK» to save changes. 

Now you can see all hidden content displaying in your Word document again.

Method 2. Display Hidden Text in Word 2013/2010/2007

Step 1. Click «File» > «Options» in Word 2013/2010. For Word 2007, click Office button > «Word Options».

Step 2. Click «Display» at the left pane. Check and uncheck the Hidden text box, leaving it empty.

Step 3. Click «OK» to save all changes. 

How to Recover Hidden Word Document/Photos in Windows 10/8/7 

In this part, we’ll provide you with two reliable methods for recover hidden Word documents in Windows computer or external storage devices. Let’s see how to do it now.

Method 1. Unhide a Word Document in File Explorer 

For Windows 10/8/8.1 users:

Step 1. Type file explorer in the Search box and select «File Explorer».

Step 2. Select «View» > «Options» > «Change folder and search options».

Step 3. In «Folder Options», select «Show hidden files, folders, and drives» under Hidden files and folders. Also, uncheck Hide extensions for known file types. Click «Apply» to save all changes.

For Windows 7 users:

Step 1. Open Windows Explorer by clicking «Start» > «Computer».

Step 2. Click «Tools» > «Folder Options» > «View».

Step 3. Under the View tab, select «Show hidden files, folders, and drives» below Hidden Files and Folders. Uncheck Hidden extensions for known file types and apply the changes. By doing so, you see all file extensions, and it will help you quickly locate the hidden Word documents or pictures. 

Method 2. Recover Hidden Word Documents and Photos with Data Recovery Software 

If you can’t view hidden Word documents, pictures, audios, videos, or other files in File Explorer, there is still a great chance to restore hidden files by using professional file recovery software — EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. This competent and user-friendly data recovery program allows you to fully scan computer or storage devices, finding all existing, lost, formatted, and hidden files with two scanning modes — Quick Scan and Deep Scan.

In addition to restoring normally deleted files, EaseUS file recovery software also enables you to recover permanently deleted files in HDD, SSD, USB flash drive, SD card, pen drive, external hard drive, etc. Download and install it on your PC, then follow the guidelines below to restore your hidden Word document or pictures within three steps. 

Step 1. Select the virus infected drive to scan

Run EaseUS virus file recovery software on your Windows PC. Select the disk attacked by the virus to scan for lost or hidden files. Note that:

• If it’s an HDD where files were hidden or deleted by virus, it’s better to install the software on a different volume or an external USB drive to avoid data overwriting.
• If the infected device is an external hard drive, flash drive or memory card, it doesn’t matter to install the software on the local drive of the computer.

Step 2. Check all scanned results

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will immediately start a scan process to find your deleted or hidden files on the virus infected hard drive. To quickly locate the wanted files, you can use the Filter or type grouping feature to display only the pictures, videos, documents, emails, etc.

Step 3. Preview and recover deleted/hidden files

When the process finishes, you can preview the scanned files. Select the files you want and click the «Recover» button. You should save restored files to another secure location on your computer or storage device, not where they were lost.