Office Performance Issues

How to Fix Word Hanging When Showing Styles in Use

Maira Mehtab Sep 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user experiences severe lag and freezing when attempting to view active styles within a large Microsoft Word document.

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Editing a large document of approximately 250 pages with about 100 styles and opening the Styles pane to select 'Show Styles in Use'.
Observed behavior: Word displays a spinning cursor and hangs for 30 to 60 seconds, with the delay repeating every 15 to 30 seconds.

Before you start

Before troubleshooting, save your document and restart Microsoft Word to ensure temporary memory glitches aren't causing the lag. It is also helpful to test whether this freezing issue occurs in a brand-new document or is isolated to this specific large file.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable the Keep Track of Formatting Option

Disabling this feature stops Word from automatically generating excess styles as you edit, significantly reducing memory load in large documents.

Microsoft Word generally only needs a few dozen core styles to function efficiently. However, when formatting tracking is enabled, Word continuously logs minor visual changes (like bolding a single word) as entirely new styles. In a 250+ page document, this bloats the Styles pane and causes severe performance drops.

Open Preferences

Open Microsoft Word and navigate to the top menu bar. Click on 'Word' and select 'Preferences' from the dropdown.

Navigate to Edit Settings

In the Preferences dialog box, locate and click on the 'Edit' icon.

Disable Formatting Tracking

Find the checkbox labeled 'Keep track of formatting' and uncheck it. Click 'OK' and restart Word to apply the changes.

Solution 2

Address Imported Formatting Issues

Documents created in other programs like Apple Pages can import hidden or incompatible formatting code that bogs down Word's Styles pane.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Use WPS Writer for Smooth Editing of Large Documents

If Microsoft Word continues to freeze while handling large documents and complex styles, consider switching to WPS Office. It is a free, lightweight, and highly optimized suite that handles massive documents with ease while maintaining full compatibility with Microsoft Office formats.

1. Download and Install: Download the free WPS Office installer from the official website and run it.
2. Open Your Large Document: Launch WPS Writer and open your .docx file directly to experience smooth performance without freezing.
3. Manage Styles Efficiently: Use the Home tab to access the Styles pane, which calculates active document styles instantly without the lag experienced in Word.

Seamlessly opens, edits, and saves .docx, .doc, and .rtf files with zero formatting loss.Lightweight architecture ensures fast loading and smooth scrolling even in 250+ page documents.Free to use with a familiar tabbed user interface, requiring no learning curve.Efficient styles and formatting pane that doesn't consume excessive system memory.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word create so many unwanted styles in my document?

Word automatically creates new styles when the 'Keep track of formatting' feature is enabled. Every time you manually apply bold, italics, or change a font outside of an existing style, Word logs it as a new style variation, which quickly bloats large documents.

Can too many styles corrupt a Word document?

While it won't necessarily corrupt the file, having thousands of unused or auto-generated styles can significantly increase the file size and cause severe performance issues, such as lagging, freezing, or crashing when opening the Styles pane.

How can I quickly delete unused styles in Word?

You can open the Styles pane, click the 'Manage Styles' button at the bottom, navigate to the 'Recommend' tab, select the unused styles, and click 'Delete'. Alternatively, using the 'Clear Formatting' tool on selected text can help reduce style bloat.

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