Ghost text

Question

When I open up a file from File Explorer in Edge, I love being able to write Text in the file. Until a month or two past, I could enter or copy and paste many characters and the file held them. Now, it may hold 10 or twenty even if ther are thirty. When entering the text, all characters are displayed but when I stop, some or many characters drop. Interesting, when I go back to texting all the ghost entries show up but when I get out again, some disappear. Anyone know how to get the old version back?

Answer 1

Hi @Massengale, Larry J

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.    

Regarding your issue, this type of behavior usually points to an inconsistency in how the PDF text annotation is being rendered or saved, rather than an issue with your typing or the PDF file itself. The fact that the text shows while editing but not once focus is lost suggests the content may not be committing or rendering reliably in its final state. 

Here are a few steps you can try: 

1. The "Standard Font" Fix

• Go to Settings (... in the top right) > Appearance. 
• Scroll to the bottom and click Customize fonts. 
• Change the following to Arial: 
  • Standard font 
  • Serif font 
  • Sans-serif font 
•  
• Restart Edge and test your file. 

2. Disable the "New PDF Viewer" Flag

• Type edge://flags in your address bar and hit Enter. 
• Search for "New PDF Viewer". 
• Set it to Disabled. 
•  
• Click Restart at the bottom of the page. 

3. The "Enter Key" Workaround

After you finish typing your text, press the Enter key once before clicking elsewhere on the document. This seems to force the browser to "commit" the entire text string to the file before it can be truncated. 

Hopefully it will help work with your issue and if you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask.  

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Answer 2

It seems like you are experiencing issues with text input in Microsoft Edge when opening files from File Explorer. This could be related to recent updates or changes in settings. Unfortunately, the context does not provide a specific solution for the ghost text issue you described.

However, you might want to check if there are any updates available for Microsoft Edge or Windows 11 that could resolve this problem. Additionally, you can try resetting the Edge settings to see if that helps restore the previous functionality.

If the problem persists, consider reaching out to Microsoft support or checking their forums for any similar issues reported by other users.

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References:

• MS Edge PDF issues (text box) starting 12/05/2025 - Microsoft Q&A
• how to fix the white box around the texts in edge browser after recent update - Microsoft Q&A