Printing Problems

Fix Large Gray Rectangle When Printing or Exporting a Word Document

WPS Content Manager Oct 9, 2026 872 views

Question details

The user needs to remove a large gray rectangle that appears on the right side of their document when printing or saving as PDF, which causes the main text to compress into the center.

How to Fix a Large Gray Rectangle When Printing or Exporting a Word Document

Product: Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Printing or exporting a document created from a template to PDF.
Observed behavior: A large gray rectangle appears on the right side of the printed or exported document, and the main text is compressed, even though the layout looks normal during editing.

Before you start

Before proceeding, check if you have recently collaborated on or reviewed the document, as this gray rectangle is typically the markup area reserved for active comments and tracked changes.

Solution 1Recommended

Accept Tracked Changes and Remove Comments

This is the most common and effective solution. Resolving tracked changes and deleting comments removes the gray markup area used by Word during printing and PDF export.

Word reserves the right margin of the page to display comments and document revisions when printing. Even if these markups are hidden during normal editing, they will print as a gray rectangle unless properly resolved or disabled in the print settings.

Open the Review Tab

Navigate to the 'Review' tab on the top ribbon menu of your document.

Accept All Changes

Click on the 'Accept' button dropdown and select 'Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking' to resolve any hidden document revisions.

Delete Comments

If the document contains comments, click the 'Delete' dropdown in the Comments section and select 'Delete All Comments in Document'.

Preview the Document

Go to 'File' > 'Print' or attempt to export the document to PDF again to verify that the gray rectangle has disappeared and the text is no longer compressed.

Accept Tracked Changes and Remove Comments

Quick Print Setting Adjustments: If you want to keep the comments but print without the gray rectangle, you can change the print settings from 'Print Markup' to simply printing the document content.

Solution 2

Inspect Template Elements and Hidden Objects

Use this solution if removing tracked changes does not solve the problem. The gray rectangle might be a background shape or layout setting tied to the specific document template.

Seamless Document Processing

Easily Manage Print Layouts and Markups with WPS Writer

WPS Writer provides an intuitive Review tab where you can easily toggle markup visibility, accept tracked changes, and accurately preview your document before printing or exporting to PDF, ensuring no unwanted gray borders appear.

1. Open the Document: Launch WPS Writer and open your template or document.
2. Navigate to the Review Tab: Click on the 'Review' tab located on the top navigation ribbon.
3. Clear the Markup Area: Click 'Accept' and choose 'Accept All Changes in Document'. Then delete any existing comments.
4. Print or Export Smoothly: Click on 'Menu' > 'Print' or 'Export to PDF' to generate a clean, properly aligned document without compressed text or gray rectangles.

Intuitive track changes and markup managementAccurate print preview that perfectly matches the final outputHighly compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) files and templatesFree and lightweight alternative for everyday document editing

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the gray box only appear when printing or exporting, but not while editing?

Word processors reserve a dedicated gray area on the right side of the printed page to display comments and track changes. Depending on your view settings, these might be hidden while you edit on-screen but are forced to show when printing or saving to PDF.

Can I print the document with tracked changes but without the text compressing?

When printing with markup, the software must shrink the main text to make room for the markup balloons on the page. To avoid text compression, you must either accept the changes, delete the comments, or turn off 'Print Markup' in your print dialog settings.

What if there are no tracked changes or comments, but the gray box remains?

The issue is likely caused by the original document template. There may be a hidden background shape, a text box set behind the text, or a specific page border applied. Accessing the Header/Footer editing mode usually allows you to select and delete these rogue background elements.

Document & File Issues