My text boxes have lost their handles and I can't delete them. Originally, the document was a .doc file but I changed it to a .docx document. The text can be deleted, but not the box itself. No matter where I put the courser, inside, or outside the box, the cut is grayed out.

Help

Click inside the text box. If the box doesn't have any borders, you'll see a dotted outline surrounding it. Click that outline. Then press the Delete key.

For a text box with borders, you can click the border directly, and then press Delete.

The reason why the appearance is different when you convert your file to Word 2013 format is that Word 2013 uses a new layout engine.

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Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional