Office for Mac Issues

How to Remove Colored Numbered Boxes in Word for Mac

Partner Editor Oct 1, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to hide the colored numbered boxes appearing in the left margin of their Word for Mac documents without affecting the document layout.

How to Remove Colored Numbered Boxes From Word for Mac

Product: Microsoft Word for Mac
Device & OS: Mac
Scenario: Editing or reviewing a document in Word for Mac where unwanted colored boxes appear next to paragraphs.
Observed behavior: Colored numbered boxes, which are Style Guides identifying applied text styles, are visible in the left margin.

Before you start

Rest assured that these colored numbered boxes are merely visual aids called 'Style Guides'. They do not alter your document's text and will never appear on printed copies or exported PDFs.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable Style Guides in the Styles Pane

The quickest way to remove the colored numbered boxes is by turning off the Style Guides feature in Word's settings.

These colored boxes are designed to show you exactly which styles (like Heading 1, Normal, or Quote) are applied to different parts of your text. Since they are only an on-screen visual reference, disabling them will clean up your workspace without changing your document's layout.

Open your document in Word for Mac

Launch Microsoft Word and open the document that is currently displaying the colored boxes in the margins.

Access the Home ribbon

Click on the 'Home' tab located at the top of the Word application window.

Open the Styles Pane

Click the 'Styles Pane' button, typically found on the far right side of the Home ribbon.

Uncheck the Style Guides option

Look at the very bottom of the Styles pane and uncheck the box labeled 'Style Guides' (or 'Show Style Guides'). The colored boxes will disappear immediately.

Instant Toggle: You can toggle this checkbox on and off whenever you need to check your document's formatting styles.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will the colored numbered boxes print if I leave them turned on?

No. The Style Guides are strictly an on-screen editing tool. They will not print on paper or appear if you save and export the document as a PDF.

Why did these style boxes suddenly appear in my document?

They usually appear because the 'Style Guides' option was accidentally checked in the Styles pane, or because you opened a document that was saved with this specific view setting enabled.

Can I customize the colors of the numbered boxes in Word for Mac?

No, Microsoft Word automatically assigns these colors to visually differentiate between the various text styles used in your document. There is no built-in way to choose specific colors for them.

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