Office Performance Issues

How to Fix Office 2021 Dropping Letters While Typing

Tauseeq Magsi Oct 15, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to resolve an issue in Microsoft Office 2021 where typed characters are temporarily hidden or skipped until more text is entered.

Product: Microsoft Office 2021
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Typing content into Microsoft Office 2021 applications such as Word.
Observed behavior: Typed characters disappear when the cursor moves and only reappear after another character is entered, indicating a potential rendering, add-in, or installation problem.

Before you start

Ensure you have saved all active documents and close any unnecessary background applications to prevent data loss while testing and restarting Office applications.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration and Update Graphics Drivers

Turning off hardware acceleration or updating your display drivers can resolve screen rendering glitches that cause text to disappear in Office.

Hardware graphics acceleration offloads rendering tasks to your GPU. If your graphics driver is outdated or malfunctioning, it can cause text to lag or drop out while typing.

Access Office Options

Open the affected Office 2021 application (such as Word). Click on 'File' in the top-left corner, then select 'Options' at the bottom of the menu.

Disable Hardware Acceleration

Click on 'Advanced' in the left-hand pane of the Options window. Scroll down to the 'Display' section, check the box for 'Disable hardware graphics acceleration' (if available in your build), and click 'OK'.

Update Graphics Driver

If the acceleration option is missing, right-click the Windows Start button and select 'Device Manager'. Expand 'Display adapters', right-click your graphics card, and choose 'Update driver'.

Restart Required: You must restart your Office application and potentially your computer for the graphics settings or driver updates to take effect.

Solution 2

Run Office in Safe Mode and Disable Add-ins

Safe Mode temporarily bypasses third-party add-ins, helping you identify if a specific extension is causing the typing lag.

Solution 3

Perform an Online Repair of Microsoft Office

If rendering and typing issues persist, the core Office installation files might be corrupted and require an online repair.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Experience Seamless Typing with WPS Office

If Microsoft Office 2021 continues to suffer from rendering issues and dropping letters, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides a free, lightweight, and highly compatible alternative that ensures smooth document editing without frustrating display glitches.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS Office website and download the free installer for your operating system.
2. Install the Software: Run the downloaded installer and follow the simple on-screen instructions to set up the suite.
3. Open Your Documents: Double-click your existing Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files to open them instantly in WPS Office with perfect formatting.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Office formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx).Lightweight architecture ensures fast performance without display lag or dropped typing.Familiar user interface requires no learning curve for easy migration.Built-in PDF editing and advanced document tools completely free of charge.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do typed characters temporarily disappear in Word 2021?

This is typically caused by a delay in screen rendering. Conflicts with outdated graphics drivers, hardware graphics acceleration settings, or malfunctioning third-party COM add-ins can prevent the screen from refreshing fast enough to show the typed characters immediately.

Will repairing Office 2021 delete my documents and settings?

No, running an Online Repair or Quick Repair for Microsoft Office will only fix the application's core installation files and registry keys. Your personal documents, templates, and customized settings will remain intact.

How do I update my graphics driver to fix Office display issues?

Right-click the Windows Start button, select Device Manager, and expand the Display adapters section. Right-click your graphics card and choose 'Update driver', then select 'Search automatically for drivers' to download and install the latest version.

Office App Problems