how to fix disappearing pictures on word

Try these checks in Word, in this order:

1. Switch to Print Layout view.
   Pictures may not appear correctly in other views.
2. Turn on drawing display.
   Go to File > Options > Advanced and make sure Show drawings and text boxes on screen is enabled.
3. Check display settings.
   Go to File > Options > Display and make sure Print drawings created in Word is enabled.
4. If the pictures were inserted as floating objects, check anchors and layout.
   Select a picture location if possible, then use Layout Options to see how the picture was inserted. Pictures that are not In line with text are anchored to a paragraph. If surrounding text was changed, the picture may have moved with its anchor.
5. If the file was closed without saving after changes, try recovering an earlier version.
   • Open the file.
   • Go to File > Info.
   • Under Manage Document, select the version labeled (when I closed without saving).
   • Select Restore.
     If the file was never saved properly, go to File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents.
6. If the document is very image-heavy, reduce picture-related issues by compressing images properly.
   Select a picture, then go to Picture Format > Compress Pictures and choose a lower resolution such as 150 ppi. Also make sure Apply only to this picture is not selected if the change should apply to all pictures.
7. If images still do not show, reinsert one test picture and save, close, and reopen the document.
   If the new picture also disappears, the issue is likely with Word display settings rather than the original images.

Important: if Delete cropped areas of pictures or Discard editing data is used, cropped or editable image data cannot be restored.

References:

• # Reduce the file size of your Word documents | Microsoft Support
• Recover an earlier version of a Word file | Microsoft Support
• [Windows)