How to avoid the "obj" appearing from a word document in Sharepoint

Question

How to avoid the "obj" appearing from a word document in Sharepoint

Corina Albu (UK) 0

My team and I are involved in drafting responses to regulators which require collaboration on the same M365 word file. We very often encounter the issue of an "obj" appearing and deleting text, very often happening with footnotes and references. We are unsure what the reasons are, as it normally happens at random times.

Any idea how we can avoid this going forward?

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2 answers

Your answer

Answer 1

Hi Corina,

Based on what you shared, since it happens randomly, it may occur when Word is reconciling simultaneous changes to structured content such as footnotes, citations, cross-references, or fields. Conflicts are more likely if someone temporarily loses connectivity, works offline, uses an older Word build, or multiple users edit the same paragraph or footnote simultaneously.

To reduce the likelihood of this issue, you can try the following:

Ensure the document is a .docx file stored directly in SharePoint or OneDrive.
Ensure everyone is using the latest version of M365 Word.
Use one editing platform consistently: as a temporary precaution, you can have everyone use the desktop version of Word
Avoid editing the same paragraph, footnote, citation, or reference at the same time: you can assign the team members to different document sections to prevent overlapping edits.

Hope this helps solve the issue. Should you need further assistance, please feel free to reach out again in the comments on this post. I'm happy to help.

Answer 2

This usually happens during co-authoring when Word has trouble reconciling edits, especially in complex documents with footnotes, cross-references, tracked changes, comments, and other advanced objects. In Word co-authoring, unsupported or complex objects can block or destabilize collaboration, and mixed editing across Word desktop and Word for the web can make this worse.

To reduce the chance of the obj placeholder replacing text:

Have everyone use the Word desktop app for these documents For complex regulator-response documents with footnotes and references, the desktop app is the more robust editing environment.
Avoid simultaneous editing in the same paragraph or section Split work by section so collaborators are not changing the same area at the same time.
Reduce document complexity during active co-authoring If possible, finish or accept major tracked changes before a heavy co-authoring session.
Check for document content that can interfere with co-authoring Co-authoring in Word can fail or behave poorly if the document contains items such as:
- OLE objects
- ActiveX controls
- master documents with subdocuments
- HTML framesets
Make sure the file is in a supported location and format Co-authoring works with OneDrive or SharePoint Online, and the file should be .docx.
Turn on the Word setting for combine accuracy In Word: File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options. Under Document-specific settings, make sure Store random numbers to improve Combine accuracy is selected.
Check whether the document is marked as final or protected Co-authoring will not work properly if the document is marked as final, checked out, password-protected, encrypted with IRM, or uses sensitivity labels that do not support co-authoring.

If corruption is discovered, the practical containment approach is to stop editing that version and continue in a new file version or copy, rather than continuing to co-author in the damaged document.

References: