Printing Problems

What is the White Square Below a Word Table and Will It Print?

Maira Mehtab Sep 21, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user notices a small white square at the bottom-right corner of a Word table and is concerned that it might appear on the printed document.

Product: Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Editing a document containing a table and preparing it for printing.
Observed behavior: A small white square appears below the bottom-right cell of the table, causing confusion about its purpose and whether it will print.

Before you start

Before proceeding, try clicking anywhere outside of your table. If the square disappears, you have confirmed it is just a standard interface element.

Solution 1Recommended

Identify the Element as the Table Resize Handle

The white square is a built-in user interface control meant to help you resize tables quickly. It is completely normal and will not print.

Word processors use on-screen visual aids to help users manipulate layout elements. The small square at the bottom-right of a table is specifically designed to allow manual resizing of the table grid.

Hover to activate the tool

Hover your mouse pointer over the small white square. Your cursor will change into a double-headed diagonal arrow.

Drag to resize

Click and drag the square to make the entire table larger or smaller on your page.

Verify print preview

Go to File > Print to check the print preview. You will see that the white square does not appear on the actual printed page.

Printing Confirmation: UI elements like the resize handle, paragraph marks, and gridlines are for on-screen editing only. They are never included when you print the document or save it as a PDF.

Solution 2

Deselect the Table to Hide the Square

If the white square is distracting while you read or format your document, you can easily hide it by shifting your focus away from the table.

Seamless Document Editing

Manage Tables Effortlessly with WPS Writer

WPS Office provides an intuitive and clean interface for creating, resizing, and formatting tables. It is fully compatible with Microsoft Word documents, ensuring your tables look exactly the way you want them to on-screen, without leaving unwanted marks on your printed pages.

1. Open your document: Launch WPS Writer and open the document containing your table.
2. Select the table: Click anywhere inside a table to reveal the Table Tools tab and the resize handles.
3. Resize easily: Hover over the bottom-right handle to manually adjust the table size for the perfect layout.
4. Preview and print safely: Click the Print Preview icon to verify that editing controls are perfectly hidden before printing.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) formatsClean, distraction-free user interfaceIntuitive drag-and-drop table formatting and resizing toolsFree and lightweight alternative to Microsoft Office

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I see gridlines in my Word table even though borders are removed?

These are view gridlines meant to help you see the table structure while editing invisible borders. They do not print. You can turn them off by navigating to the Table Tools Layout tab and clicking 'View Gridlines'.

How can I make sure my table fits on one page before printing?

You can use the table resize handle (the white square) to manually shrink the table, or go to the Layout tab and use the 'AutoFit to Window' or 'AutoFit to Contents' options to ensure it scales correctly.

Can I remove the table resize handle permanently?

No, the resize handle is a built-in feature of the word processor designed to help you edit layouts. However, it will automatically hide as soon as you click your cursor outside the table.

Document & File Issues