File Corruption & Recovery

How to Fix Microsoft Word Showing OBJ Instead of Punctuation

WPS Editor Oct 8, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user is seeing a dotted box containing the letters "OBJ" instead of normal punctuation or text in their Microsoft Word document.

How to Fix Microsoft Word Showing OBJ Instead of Punctuation

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Viewing or editing a document that contains embedded objects, complex formatting, or content generated by third-party add-ins.
Observed behavior: Instead of standard text or punctuation, Microsoft Word displays the Object Replacement Character (a small box with 'OBJ' inside), indicating an unreadable or hidden object.

Before you start

Before troubleshooting, create a copy of your document and save it in a different folder to prevent any accidental data loss while repairing corrupted objects.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable and Update Third-Party Add-ins

Use this method if the OBJ error is caused by a citation manager or formatting add-in inserting unsupported objects into your document.

The OBJ box is often inserted by third-party add-ins, especially reference and citation managers (like Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote), when Word fails to process their embedded codes properly. Disabling these add-ins can reveal if they are the source of the issue.

Open the Add-ins Menu

Launch Microsoft Word and open your document. Click on the 'File' tab in the top-left corner, select 'Options', and then click on 'Add-ins' in the left pane of the Word Options window.

Manage COM Add-ins

At the bottom of the window, find the 'Manage' drop-down list. Ensure 'COM Add-ins' is selected, then click the 'Go...' button.

Disable Suspicious Add-ins

Uncheck the boxes next to any active add-ins, particularly citation managers or recently installed tools. Click 'OK' and restart Word to check if the OBJ symbols are resolved.

Update Your Add-ins: If disabling an add-in fixes the issue but you still need to use it, visit the developer's website to download the latest version compatible with your version of Word.

Solution 2

Use Word's Open and Repair Feature

This solution helps fix internal document corruption that may be causing embedded objects to render incorrectly.

Solution 3

Copy Text to a Blank Document

Use this method to strip away corrupted background formatting and hidden objects while salvaging your text.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Avoid Document Rendering Errors with WPS Office

If Microsoft Word continues to struggle with corrupted objects or add-in conflicts, try opening your document in WPS Office. As a free, lightweight, and highly compatible alternative, WPS Office often renders complex formatting and problematic OLE objects smoothly without displaying OBJ errors.

1. Download the Software: Visit the official WPS website and download the free WPS Office installer for your operating system.
2. Install and Launch: Follow the on-screen instructions to install the suite, then open WPS Writer.
3. Open Your Document: Drag and drop your problematic .docx file into the WPS Writer window to view and edit your content without the OBJ symbol errors.

Seamlessly highly compatible with Microsoft Office formats (.docx, .doc, .xlsx, .pptx)Lightweight architecture that opens large and complex documents without lagClean, familiar user interface requiring zero learning curveFree built-in PDF editor and AI tools to enhance your productivity

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Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly does the OBJ box mean in Microsoft Word?

The OBJ box stands for the Object Replacement Character. It is a placeholder Word uses when it encounters an embedded object (like a specialized equation, an image, or citation data) that it cannot render or display due to file corruption, missing add-ins, or unsupported formatting.

Can I just delete the OBJ boxes from my document?

Yes, you can manually delete the OBJ boxes just like any standard text character by highlighting them and pressing Backspace or Delete. However, doing so will permanently remove the underlying embedded data or object that the box represents.

Why do OBJ boxes appear when I paste text from a PDF or website?

When you copy text from PDFs or web pages, hidden formatting tags, web elements, or non-standard characters are often copied alongside the text. Word cannot interpret these foreign elements, so it defaults to displaying them as OBJ boxes. To prevent this, right-click and choose 'Keep Text Only' when pasting.

Document & File Issues