Office Performance Issues

How to Fix Screen Flickering When Selecting Text in Microsoft Word

Steve K Sep 27, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user experiences screen flickering, blurriness, or jittering when selecting or highlighting text in Microsoft Word.

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Highlighting text, especially when using split windows.
Observed behavior: The screen becomes blurry, jittery, or misaligned while text is being selected, whereas other applications work normally.

Before you start

Before making changes to your settings, ensure that all your unsaved documents are saved and close other heavy applications to rule out general system resource exhaustion.

Solution 1Recommended

Run Word in Safe Mode and Disable Add-ins

Starting Word in Safe Mode helps determine if a third-party add-in is causing the screen flickering.

Add-ins can sometimes conflict with Word's display rendering. Safe Mode bypasses these add-ins, allowing you to isolate the problem.

Open the Run Dialog

Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.

Launch Safe Mode

Type 'winword /safe' and press Enter to launch Microsoft Word in Safe Mode.

Test Text Selection

Try selecting text in your document. If the flickering stops, the issue is likely caused by an add-in.

Disable Add-ins

Go to File > Options > Add-ins. Select 'COM Add-ins' from the Manage dropdown menu at the bottom and click Go. Uncheck all add-ins, click OK, and restart Word normally.

Identify the Culprit: If disabling all add-ins fixes the issue, re-enable them one by one to find the specific add-in causing the screen flickering.

Solution 2

Disable Hardware Graphics Acceleration

Display glitches like jittery screens or black bars can often be fixed by turning off hardware graphics acceleration in Word.

Solution 3

Update Your Graphics Driver and Office Installation

Outdated display drivers or Office builds can cause screen misalignment and flickering during rendering.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Switch to WPS Office for a Smoother Writing Experience

If Microsoft Word continues to flicker or experience display glitches, try WPS Office. It is a highly optimized, lightweight, and free office suite that offers excellent performance on all PCs without graphics stuttering.

1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website to download and install the free office suite.
2. Open Your Document: Launch WPS Writer and open your existing .docx files directly without any formatting loss.
3. Edit Smoothly: Select, highlight, and edit your text without any screen jittering or blurriness.

No screen flickering or graphics issues during text selection.Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx) formats.Lightweight design ensures fast loading and smooth performance on older hardware.Familiar, easy-to-use interface with no steep learning curve.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my screen only flicker when I highlight text in Word?

This is usually caused by compatibility issues between Word's rendering engine and your computer's graphics card drivers, or by a third-party add-in interfering with the display during mouse drag actions.

What should I do if the 'Disable hardware graphics acceleration' option is missing in Word?

Microsoft has removed this option in recent updates for Office 365. If you cannot find it, you should focus on updating your computer's graphics drivers via the Device Manager or running Windows Update to resolve rendering issues.

Will reinstalling Microsoft Office fix the screen jittering?

It might, if the display glitch is caused by corrupted program files. However, it is much faster to try Safe Mode, disable add-ins, and update your graphics driver first before attempting a time-consuming full reinstallation.

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