Formatting Issues

Fix Content Controls Appearing After Accepting Word Tracked Changes

Kushani Nimanthika Oct 1, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to remove small boxes with three dots that cause unwanted spacing between words after accepting tracked changes in a converted document.

How to Fix Content Controls Appearing After Accepting Word Tracked Changes

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Accepting tracked changes in a Word document that was recently converted from Google Docs.
Observed behavior: Small boxes with three dots (unsupported content controls) appear in the text, introducing unwanted spaces between words.

Before you start

Before proceeding, create a backup copy of your document to prevent any accidental data loss while adjusting content controls and formatting tags.

Solution 1Recommended

Inspect Document and Remove Content Controls

Identify and manually delete the residual formatting boxes introduced during the Google Docs to Word conversion process.

When a document containing unresolved suggestions is exported from Google Docs to Word, the conversion process can introduce unsupported content control boxes. Removing these will restore your normal text spacing.

Identify the Controls

Scroll through your document and locate the small boxes with three dots that appeared after you clicked 'Accept All Changes'.

Select the Content Control

Click directly on the small box with the three dots to highlight the specific content control causing the unwanted spacing.

Remove Content Control

Right-click the highlighted control box and select 'Remove Content Control' from the context menu, or simply press the 'Delete' key on your keyboard.

Spacing Restored: Removing these controls will immediately fix the unwanted spaces without deleting your actual document text.

Solution 2

Verify and Resolve Formatting in Google Docs

Check if the structural issue originated in Google Docs and resolve tracked changes before converting to Word.

Accept Tracked Changes Cleanly Using WPS Office

WPS Writer provides a robust Review feature that processes tracked changes smoothly without leaving residual content controls or unwanted spaces. You can easily open your converted documents and manage revisions efficiently.

1. Open the Document: Launch WPS Writer and open your downloaded .docx file.
2. Access Review Tab: Navigate to the 'Review' tab located on the top ribbon menu.
3. Manage Changes: Click the 'Accept' or 'Reject' buttons to process the tracked changes cleanly without generating unsupported content control boxes.

Flawlessly compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) document formatsCleanly accepts or rejects tracked changes without structural glitches or extra spacesFree and lightweight alternative for daily professional document editing

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do small boxes with three dots appear in my Word document?

These boxes are typically 'Content Controls' used for form fields or structured document tags. They can mistakenly appear as residual artifacts when a document is converted from Google Docs to Microsoft Office format while tracked changes or suggestions are still active.

How can I prevent formatting issues when converting from Google Docs to Word?

To minimize conversion errors and unsupported formatting tags, it is highly recommended to accept or reject all suggestions directly within Google Docs before downloading the file as a .docx.

Can I hide content controls without deleting them?

Yes, you can adjust the display settings if the Developer tab is enabled. Go to Developer > Design Mode to toggle the visibility of content control tags, though manually deleting them is the best way to permanently fix word spacing issues.

Document & File Issues