# Gray corners in Word 2002--help me get rid of them!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-corners-in-word-2002-help-me-get-rid-of-them/289889>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 13, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-corners-in-word-2002-help-me-get-rid-of-them/289889 "2005-02-13T18:25:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-corners-in-word-2002-help-me-get-rid-of-them/289889/1 "2005-02-13T18:25:52Z")

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I had to recently re-install Word 2002 on my computer, which means all my personal settings and formatting stuff is gone and reset to default. Now, every document I look at has grey L shaped things marking each margin, like this:

_|\*\*\*\*\*|_  
\*\* text  
\*\* text

\_ \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\_

- |\*\*\*\*\*|

(Ignore the \*'s–they’re just there so the spacing comes out right).

This is only a minor annoyance, but I can’t get rid of them for the life of me! Thanks.

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**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-corners-in-word-2002-help-me-get-rid-of-them/289889/2 "2005-02-13T19:23:52Z")

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On the menu, Choose Tools | Options …

On the dialog box, choose the View tab.

In the Print and Web Layout section, uncheck the box for Text boundaries.

Click [OK]

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**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-corners-in-word-2002-help-me-get-rid-of-them/289889/3 "2005-02-13T19:47:41Z")

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> [@LSLGuy](#):
>
> On the menu, Choose Tools | Options …
> 
> On the dialog box, choose the View tab.
> 
> In the Print and Web Layout section, uncheck the box for Text boundaries.
> 
> Click [OK]

Sorry, but I looked and the box is already unchecked. Checking it puts a gray boundary around the entire text, like a box, but with it unchecked, the gray corners still remain.

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**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-corners-in-word-2002-help-me-get-rid-of-them/289889/4 "2005-02-13T21:29:31Z")

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In Start, Programs, go to Microsoft Office Tools, then Microsoft Office XP Language Settings. In the enabled languages list, remove everything except for English (U.S.), and click OK. That should fix it.

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**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\
**Post date:** [February 13, 2005, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gray-corners-in-word-2002-help-me-get-rid-of-them/289889/5 "2005-02-13T21:39:20Z")

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> [@yoyodyne](#):
>
> In Start, Programs, go to Microsoft Office Tools, then Microsoft Office XP Language Settings. In the enabled languages list, remove everything except for English (U.S.), and click OK. That should fix it.

I have no idea why, but this works. Stupid Microsoft. Thanks Yoyodyne!