Newer versions of Microsoft Office programs like Word are always adding features that are meant to make the program easier to use. These usability improvements can make document editing faster, easier, and more enjoyable.
Certain features, however, may prove to be problematic for some users. In my case, one of those features is the ability to drag and drop text. In theory this is really handy, and I have used it from time to time with success. But I’ve also caused some problems for myself when I accidentally starting using the drag and drop feature, and it can be difficult to fix if you don’t notice it immediately.
If you too have experienced issues with this feature, then you can follow our steps below and find out how to disable text drag and drop in Word for Office 365.
How to Prevent Accidentally Dragging and Dropping Text in Word for Office 365
The steps in this article were performed in the Microsoft Word for Office 365 version of the application, but will also work in some earlier versions as well.
Step 1: Open Microsoft Word.
Step 2: Click the File tab at the top-left of the window.
Step 3: Select Options at the bottom-left corner of the window.
Step 4: Choose the Advanced tab at the left side of the Word Options window.
Step 5: Click the box to the left of Allow text to be dragged and dropped to clear the check mark. You can then click the OK button at the bottom of the window to apply the change.
Do you have a document with a lot of weird formatting that is going to be time-consuming to fix? Find out how to quickly clear all formatting and revert your text to the default settings for the document.
Matthew Burleigh has been a freelance writer since the early 2000s. You can find his writing all over the Web, where his content has collectively been read millions of times.
Matthew received his Master’s degree in Computer Science, then spent over a decade as an IT consultant for small businesses before focusing on writing and website creation.
The topics he covers for MasterYourTech.com include iPhones, Microsoft Office, and Google Apps.
You can read his full bio here.