Microsoft Word Tips, Tricks & Templates » Troubleshooting

How to change MS Word’s default color White to Blue

Editor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:06:30 +0000

You can change the background color of Microsoft Word from White to Blue.

For some people, this makes it easier on the eye as it reduces the glare from the screen.

I have to admit, I prefer blue to white but have difficulties when adding images or inserting text with different color schemes.

Anyway, it’s a nice option to have. Here’s how I do it:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Options.

2. Click Blue Background, White Text.

That’s it!

How to Add Special Effects to your Next Business Report

Editor — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:16:05 +0000

How do I animate text in a Word Document? For example, to make dancing ants or add sparkles to the text.

1. Select the text you want to animate.

2. Click Format, Font, and then the Text Effects tab.

3. In the Animations box, click the effect you want, for example Sparkle Text.

You can preview the animation in the box at the bottom of the menu.

Only one animation effect can be selected at a time.

How to Create Dynamic Web links in your Technical Documents

Editor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:21:11 +0000

Instead of using field codes to add filenames and file paths to your document, you can setup Word so that it displays these in the toolbar. You can then add these links to any page in an open document.

1. Right-click on the toolbar.

2. Select Customize and then the Commands tab.

3. Scroll down the Categories list and click on All Commands.

4. Scroll down the Commands list to Web Address.

5. Drag the Web Address onto your toolbar.

The web address bar is now displayed on your document’s path and filename.

6. To add the file path to your document, click anywhere in the page, right-click in the web address bar, and then copy and paste it into your document.

How to Improve Readability on Laptops and HD Flat Panel Displays

Editor — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:03:00 +0000

If you use a laptop to write, then get this free download from Microsoft. It gives you improved font display quality over traditional forms of font smoothing or anti-aliasing. ClearType improves readability on color LCD displays, such as laptops and flat panel displays. Readability on CRT screens can also be improved.

Tip: Use this online tuner to turn on and tune your Windows XP ClearType settings. If you experience problems download the Windows XP PowerToy version of the tuner. The online tuner does not currently work with Windows Vista.

ClearType improves the readability of text on existing LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays), such as laptop screens, Pocket PC screens and flat panel monitors. With ClearType font technology, the words on your computer screen look almost as sharp and clear as those printed on a piece of paper.

ClearType works by accessing the individual vertical color stripe elements in every pixel of an LCD screen. Before ClearType, the smallest level of detail that a computer could display was a single pixel, but with ClearType running on an LCD monitor, we can now display features of text as small as a fraction of a pixel in width. The extra resolution increases the sharpness of the tiny details in text display, making it much easier to read over long durations.

Get ClearType and read more here.

5 Tips for Keyboard Fanatics & Time Poor Tech Writers

Editor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:30:24 +0000

Donationcoder continue their excellent series of products with TapTap Hotkey Extender, a tiny super-efficient tray-based utility (under <100k) for keyboard fanatics.

It monitors hotkey combinations not supported by most programs (e.g. like doubletap right shift key). When such hotkey combinations are detected, TapTap will simulate a normal hotkey that the user has configured.

In this way, you can configure any of your programs to respond to these extended hotkey events as if they supported it natively.

For Example:
You might have a program which normally triggers on Alt+Ctrl+F5, but you want to configure it to trigger with a double tap of the right control key. You can use TapTap to detect Right Control Doubletap events, and send a Ctrl+Alt+F5 when it does. In this way, you can control your programs the way you want to, and they never know the difference.

TapTap Hotkey Extender is written in lean and mean C++ and highly optimized for insignificant cpu/memory access. It makes no changes to any system files and is completely safe. Comes with an installer but you can unpack the download manually and run it without installing.

Download it here: http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/TapTap/index.html

Error Messages when Starting Microsoft Word

Editor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:55:06 +0000

Over the years Microsoft Word has crashed on me several times. What’s interesting is that the error message I get tend to vary but the result it always the same – I can’t get Word to start.

Here are some common error messages, the reason why they appear, and what you can do to re-start Word. 9 times out of 10, if you delete the Normal.dot file and re-start, you’ll be fine. If that doesn’t work, please read on.

Error Message when Starting Word

When you start Microsoft Office Word, you may receive error messages that are similar to the following error messages:

run-time error.
subscript out of range.
Compile Error in hidden module module name.
Visual Basic Error – Object doesn’t support this property or method.
Cannot display the template add in template is not valid template name.
Word cannot open this document template template name.
module name cannot be found.
Command cannot be performed because a dialog box is open.
Cannot open this file file name.
The file cannot be opened.
Microsoft VisualBasic – The macros in this project are disabled.
The add-in template is not valid.

Why am I getting this message?

This behavior occurs because an add-in in one of the startup folders is not compatible with Word.

How to fix this?

To identify the add-in that may be causing the behavior, follow these steps:

1. Quit all Microsoft Office programs, including Word and Microsoft Outlook.

2. Open the following folder for depending on your version of Word.

For Microsoft Office Word 2007:

Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Startup

For Microsoft Office Word 2003:

Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\Startup

For Microsoft Word 2002:

Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10\Startup

For Microsoft Word 2000:

Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Startup

3. Move any files that are located in that folder to your desktop.

4. Open the following folder:

Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Word\Startup

5. Move any files that are located in that folder to your desktop.

6. Restart Word.

For more information about how to use the Support Template, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 820919 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/820919/ )

Did that work for you?

If not, please tell me what version of Word you’re using, what happened when you tried to re-start it, and any other information that may help diagnose this problem.

How to Force Word to Close after it Crashes

Editor — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:05:00 +0000

Word crashed. But when you go to re-open it, it refuses to do so. What’s happening here and how do I fix it.

How to Force Word to Close after it Crashes

When Word crashes, the Winword.exe file may still be running behind the scenes. I know.

If it is running, why won’t it open? There is no easy answer to this but here’s how you can get it re-started.

What you have to do is close this the Winword.exe before you re-open Word as otherwise system conflicts may arise, i.e. you may not be able to open Word, as the system sees that Winword.exe is currently running.

To close Winword.exe let’s use the Task Manager

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL. In the Windows Security dialog box, click Task Manager.

2. On the Processes tab, click any instance of Winword.exe, and then click End Process.

3. Close the Windows Task Manager, and then re-start Word.

Final Tip

One final tip here is that when you re-open Microsoft Word, make sure that the files you were looking for can be opened.

If you have difficulty with this, please take a look at this very detailed tutorial over on the Klariti site.

How to Open and Repair a Damaged Word file

Editor — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 05:46:51 +0000

You can “force” Word to recover a document after it has crashed. Microsoft Word tries to automatically recover a damaged document if it detects a problem with the file. Here’s how.

Microsoft Word tries to automatically recover a damaged document if it detects a problem with the file.

When this happens, it will re-open Word and show you a version of the document – before it crashed. It may also show you a second version of the document, which will be a second version of the document, usually recovered with the ‘autosave’ function.

How to Recover Text from a Crashed Word file

1. Open Word, and in the File menu, click Open.

2. In the File of type list, click All Files *.*.

3. In the Open dialog box, select your document.

4. Point to the arrow on the Open button, and then click Open and Repair.

This will open the Word file.

The style and formatting may be slightly damaged but you will have most of the text and can, at least, use it to rebuild a new document.

One final suggestion is to copy the material into a new Microsoft Word document, just in case there is some gremlin in the recovered document.

Does this work for you?

Let me know if your system is different. I’m on XP and use 2003 & 2007. Maybe XP is different.

How to Stop Microsoft Word Getting a Macro Virus

Editor — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:57:37 +0000

A macro virus may use Word’s macro programming language (VBA) to spread itself through your computer, infecting all your Word files. Macro viruses infect Word documents, templates, and other programs that uses a programming language. Here’s how you can reduce the likelihood of getting a macro virus.
Macro viruses do not infect programs; they infect documents and templates. The virus will spread to other documents and templates you may have on your system.

1. Install Microsoft Word anti-virus software: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q49/5/00.ASP.

2. Set a security level in Microsoft Word – Word 2000 Only.

From the Tools menu, choose Macro and then Security. On the Security Level tab, select the security level you want and then click OK.

3. Protect the global template (Normal.dot).

To prevent some macro viruses, you can apply password protection to the Normal.dot.

To do this:

1 Click on the Normal.dot file and
2 Choose Properties and select the Protection tab.

3 Apply a password, confirm the password and click the OK button.

Or you can set password protection by:

1 In Word, choose Tools, Macro, Visual Basic Editor.
2 In the Editor, click on the Normal project and select Normal Properties.
3 Apply password protection and click OK.

UPDATE: I have had some success in getting Word docs back to normal by saving them to HTML and then re-opening them in Word. Then re-save them to .doc. This seems to remove corruptions due to problems with tables, usually caused by too many table styles causing the Normal.dot to crash.

Please let me know if you know any tricks to recover damaged Word documents.

3 Reasons Why Microsoft Word Documents Become Corrupt

Editor — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:53:29 +0000

Here are three reasons why Word documents become corrupted.
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1. Round-tripping

One of the main causes of document corruption is when a document is converted from one format to another and back repeatedly. Word to RTF to Word or Word to Excel and back into Word.

This is called round-tripping. It gives Word a nervous breakdown. Avoid Round-tripping at all cost!

If not, your chances of document corruption increase greatly – it is no longer if the document will corrupt, it’s when.

2. Copying from Disks/CDs/Flash Disks

Another common cause of document corruption is storing, accessing, and saving a file from CD or flash drive. A CD is useful for transporting files, but once you are ready to work on the file again, be sure to save the file to your computer’s hard drive.

3. Word Macro Virus

Another sign that will appear to be indicative of corruption can actually be the result of infection by a macro virus. A macro virus works like a conventional computer virus, but takes advantage of Word’s structure and functionality to replicate and trigger when certain events occur.

Many macro viruses are only nuisances and don’t cause any damage, but some can be quite dangerous.

5 Things you can’t do with the Microsoft Word 2007 Ribbon

Editor — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:07:36 +0000

I have Microsoft Word on two different PCs. My old laptop have Word 2003 (which I know and love) and the new, shiny desktop has (sadly) Word 2007. It’s not so bad, but the ribbon is driving me insane.
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Here are 5 things I can’t make it do:

Add to or rearrange the commands on the Ribbon.
Change or remove a command or group on the Ribbon.
Add tabs to the Ribbon, unless you use XML and programming code.
Switch to the toolbars and menus from earlier versions of Microsoft Office.
Change the font or font size used on the Ribbon.

If you know of others, let me know.

I have wasted so much time trying to find where commands are in the new 2007 version, it really beggar’s belief.

Whereas in 2003, I have my way around real quick.

If you know any tips on getting the best from 2007 – and even how to customize the ribbon – please let me know.
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How to Open & Save Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 files in earlier versions of MS Office

Editor — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:29:25 +0000

If you use MS Office XP, MS Office 2002/2003 and you want to open documents created in Office 2007 formats, you must install the Office Compatibility Pack. It’s free to download from Microsoft and easy to install.

Download and install Compatibility Pack

You need to install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack if you want to use Microsoft Office 2007 documents in Office XP, Office 2002 and 2003.

To download the Office Compatibility Pack go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466

After you install the compatibility pack successfully, you should be able to open the .docx files in MS Word 2003.

Word 2002/2002/2003

You can now create, open, edit, and save the following Word 2007 file formats:

Word Document (*.docx)
Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)

Excel 2003 and Excel 2002

In Excel 2003 and Excel 2002, you can now create, open, edit, and save the following Excel 2007 file formats:

Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)
Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
Excel Binary Workbook (*.xlsb)
Excel Template (*.xltx)
Excel Macro-Enabled Template (*.xltm)
Excel Add-In (*.xlam)

Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Excel 2007 formats.

UPDATE:

1. Please install all High-Priority updates from Microsoft Update before downloading the Compatibility Pack.

2. Scripts If your Microsoft Word 2000/2002 use complex scripts, please see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925451.

3. System Administrators: The administrative template for the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint converters contained within the Compatibility Pack is available for download.

4. Update: The Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 1 (SP1) is available here.

How to Fix Error Message “Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file”

Editor — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:45:34 +0000

You get this error message when opening a 2007 Office document: “Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file”. Here’s how to fix it.
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To resolve this issue, install the Compatibility Pack.

To do this, use one of the following methods:

Click Yes when you receive one of the messages that are mentioned in the “Symptoms” section.
Visit the following site to download and to install the Compatibility Pack:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466

Other error messages may arise if you try to open a 2007 Microsoft Office document in one of the programs:

The file uses the Open XML file format that is new to the 2007 Microsoft Office system. In this scenario, you may receive one of the following error messages:

This file was created by a newer version of Microsoft Excel. Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file?

This file was created by a newer version of Microsoft PowerPoint. Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file?

This file was created by a newer version of Microsoft Word. Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file?

More MS tech support here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919026/

How to Fix Damaged & Corrupt Word 2007 Documents – Part 2

Editor — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:57:13 +0000

This article provides advanced Troubleshooting steps if your damaged document still does not open. It describes how to identify a damaged document and how to recover the text contained in a document.

Method 1: Open the damaged document in draft mode without updating links

Step 1: Configure Word 2007

Start Word 2007
On the View tab, click Draft in the Document Views group.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.
In the Display document content section, click to select the Draft font and Picture placeholders check boxes under Advanced options for working with Word.
In the General section, click to clear the Update automatic links at Open check box under Advanced options for working with Word. Then, click OK.

Step 2: Open the damaged document

Start Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the damaged document, and then click Open.

If you can open the document, close the document and then reopen it by using Method 6, and repair the document. Otherwise go to Method 2.

Method 2: Insert the document in a new document

Step 1: Create a new blank document

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click New.
Click Blank document, and then click Create.

Note You may have to re-apply some formatting to the last section of the new document.

Step 2: Insert the damaged document into the new document

On the Insert tab, click Insert Object, and then click Text From File.
In the Insert File dialog box, locate and then click the damaged document. Then, click Insert.

Note You may have to reapply some formatting to the last section of the new document.

Method 3: Create a link to the damaged document

Step 1: Create blank document

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click New.
Click Blank document, and then click Create.
In the new document, type Does This Work! .
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Save.
Type Rescue link, and then click Save.

Step 2: Create link

Select the text you typed in step 1c.
On the Home tab, click Copy in the Clipboard group.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click New.
Click Blank document, and then click Create.
On the Home tab, click the arrow on the Paste button in the Clipboard group, and then click Paste Special.
Click Paste link, click Formatted Text (RTF).
Click OK.

Step 3: Change the link to the damaged document

Right-click the linked text, point to Linked Document Object, and then click Links.
In the Links dialog box, click the file name of the linked document, and then click Change Source.
In the Change Source dialog box, click the document that you cannot open, and then click Open.
Click OK to close the Links dialog box. Note The information from the damaged document will appear if there was any recoverable data or text.
Right-click the linked text, point to Linked Document Object, and then click Links.
In the Links dialog box, click Break Link.
When you receive the following message, click Yes: Are you sure you want to break the selected links?

Method 4: Use the “Recover Text from Any File” converter

Note If you use the “Recover Text from Any File”, all document formatting, graphics, fields, drawing objects, and any other items that are not text are lost.
However, field text, headers, footers, footnotes, and endnotes are retained as text.

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
In the Files of type box, click Recover Text from Any File(*.*).
Click the document from which you want to recover the text.
Click Open.

After the document is recovered by using the “Recover Text from Any File” converter, there is some binary data text that is not converted.
This text is usually at the start and end of the document.
You can delete this binary data text before you save the file as a Word document.

How to Fix Damaged & Corrupt Word 2007 Documents – Part 1

Editor — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 09:53:37 +0000

This article describes how to identify a damaged document in Microsoft Office Word 2007. It also includes steps that explain how to recover the text contained in a document.

Step 1: Determine the template used by the document

Open the document in Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.
Click Add-Ins.
In the Manage box, click Templates under View and manage Office add-ins
Click Go.

The Document template box will list the template that is used by the document. If the template listed is Normal, go to step 2, otherwise, go to step 3.

Step 2: Rename Normal.dotm

For Windows Vista

Close Word 2007.
Click the Vista Start icon.
In the Start Search box, type the following and then press ENTER:

%userprofile%\appdata\roaming\microsoft\templates
Right-click Normal.dotm, and then click Rename.
Type Donotuse.old, and then press ENTER.
Close Windows Explorer.
Start Word 2007 and open the document.

Check if the document is now fixed. If not, see below.

For Microsoft Windows XP

Exit Word 2007
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type the following and then press ENTER:
%userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates
Right-click Normal.dotm, and then click Rename.
Type Donotuse.old, and then press ENTER.
Close Windows Explorer.

The next step is to change the document template.

Step 3: Change the document template

Open the document in Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.
Click Add-Ins.
In the Manage box, click Templates under View and manage Office add-ins, and then click Go.
Click Attach.
In the Templates folder, click Normal.dotm, and then click Open.
Click OK to close the Templates and Add-ins dialog box.
Close Word 2007

Step 4: Check if changing the templates worked.

Start Word 2007.
Open the document.
Click if the document if fixed.

If the problem persists, go to Method 2.

Method 2: Start Word 2007 with the Default settings

Use the /a switch to start Word 2007. This start Word with its default settings, which stop Word from loading add-ins. Also, Word 2007 won’t use your Normal.dotm template.

Step 1: Start Word 2007 by using the /a switch

Exit Word 2007
Click Start
In the Start Search box, type the following text, and then press ENTER:
“%programfiles%\microsoft office\office12\winword.exe” /a

Windows XP

Exit Word 2007
Click Start, and then click Run.
In the Open box, type the following text, and then press ENTER:
“%programfiles%\microsoft office\office12\winword.exe” /a

Step 2: Open the document

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the document, and then click Open.

If the strange behavior persists, go to Method 3.

Method 3: Change Printer drivers

Step 1: Try a different printer driver

Windows Vista

Step a: Open Add Printer

Click Start
Click Printers.
Click Add a printer.

Step b: Add a new printer

In the Add Printer dialog box, click Add a local printer.
Click Use an existing port, and then click Next.
In the Manufacturer list, click Microsoft.
Click Microsoft XPS Document Writer, and then click Next.
Click Use the driver that is currently installed (recommended), and then click Next.
Click to select the Set as the default printer check box, and then click Next.
Click Finish.

Windows XP

Step a: Open Add Printer

Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
Under Printer Tasks, click Add a printer.

Step b: Add a new printer

After you install the following patches, the Microsoft XPS Document Writer icon automatically appears in the Printers and FAXes folder.

Install Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0.
Install Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) 6.0.
Install Microsoft XPS Essentials Pack.

For more information on these patches, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/xps/viewxps.mspx

Step 2: Verify that changing printer drivers fixes the problem

Start Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the damaged document, and then click Open.

If the problem persists, go to step 3.

Step 3: Reinstall original printer driver.

Windows Vista

Click Start
Click Printers.
Right-click the original default printer, and then click Delete.
If you are prompted to remove all the files associated with the printer, click Yes.
Click Add a printer, and then follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard to reinstall the printer driver.

Windows XP

Click Start, and then click Printers and Faxes.
Right-click the original default printer, and then click Delete.
If you are prompted to remove all the files that are associated with the printer, click Yes.
Under Printer Tasks, click Add a printer, and then follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard to reinstall the printer driver.

Step 4: Verify that changing printer drivers fixes the problem

Start Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the damaged document, and then click Open.

If the problem persists, go to Method 4.

Method 4: Start in Safe Mode

Step 1: Start Windows in safe mode

Windows Vista

Remove all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then restart the computer.
Click Start
Click the arrow next to Lock, and then click Restart.
Use one of the following procedures:
- If your computer has a single operating system installed, press and hold F8 as the computer restarts.NOTE: You must press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, it’s too late; shut down and restart.
- If your computer has more than one OS, use the arrow keys to highlight the OS that you want to start in safe mode, and press F8.
On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode, and then press ENTER.
Log on to your computer by using a user account that has Admin rights.

Windows XP

Remove all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your PC and restart.
Click Start, and then click Shut Down.
In the What do you want the computer to do list, click Restart, and then click OK.
Hold down the CTRL key as you restart the computer.
When you see the Starting Windows message, press F8, use the arrow keys to select Safe Mode on the Startup menu, and then press ENTER.

Step 2: Verify that starting in safe mode fixes the problem.

Start Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the damaged document, and then click Open.

If the problem persists, restart Windows, and go to Method 5.

Method 5: Force Word to try to repair a file

Step 1: Repair document

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
In the Open dialog box, click your Word 2007 document.
Click the arrow on the Open button, and then click Open and Repair.

Step 2: Verify that repairing the document fixes the problem

Verify that the problem no longer occurs.
If the strange behavior persists, restart Windows, and then go to Method 6.

Method 6: Change the document format and then convert it back to Word 2007

Step 1: Open the document

Start Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the document, and then click Open.

Step 2: Save the document in a different file format

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Save as.
Click Other Formats.
In the Save as file type list, click Rich Text Format (*.rtf).
Click Save.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Close.

Step 3: Open the document, and then convert document back to Word 2007 file format

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the converted document, and then click Open.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Save as.
Click Document.
Rename the document and click Save.

Step 4: Verify that converting the document file format fixes the problem

Verify that the problem no longer occurs.
If the behavior persists, try to save the file in another file format, such as HTML.
Repeat step 1 to step 4, and then try to save the file in the following file formats, in the following order:

Web page (.htm; .html)
Any other word processing format
Plain Text (.txt)

WARNING When you save a file in the Plain Text (.txt) you may fixed the problem but lose all the document macros, formatting and graphics
When you save files in the Plain Text (.txt) format, you must reformat the document. Therefore, use the Plain Text (.txt) format only if the other file formats do not resolve the problem.

If the problem persists, go to Method 7.

Method 7: Copy everything – EXCEPT the last paragraph mark – to a new document

Step 1: Create a new document

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click New.
Click Blank document, and then click Create.

Step 2: Open the problem document

Start Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the damaged document, and then click Open.

Step 3: Copy the contents of document, and then paste the contents into the new document

WARNING If your document contains section breaks, copy only the text between the sections breaks.

Do not copy the section breaks as this may bring the damage into your new document. Change the document View to Draft view when you copy and paste between documents to avoid transferring section breaks.

To change to draft view, on the View tab, click Draft in the Document Views group.

In the damaged document, press CTRL+END, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME.
On the Home tab, click Copy in the Clipboard group.
On the View tab, click Switch Windows in the Window group.
Click the new document that you created in step 1.
On the Home tab, click Paste in the Clipboard group.

If the problem persists, go to Method 8.

Method 8: Copy the undamaged parts of the document to a ‘clean’ blank document

Step 1: Create a new document

Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click New.
Click Blank document, and then click Create.

Step 2: Open the damaged document

Start Word 2007.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
Click the damaged document, and then click Open.

Step 3: Copy the undamaged parts of document, and then paste the undamaged parts to the blank document

WARNING Do not copy the section breaks because this may bring the damage into your new document.
In the damaged document, locate and then select an undamaged part of the document’s contents.

On the Home tab, click Copy in the Clipboard group.
On the View tab, click Switch Windows in the Window group.
Click the new document that you created in step 1.
On the Home tab, click Paste in the Clipboard group.
Repeat steps 3a to 3e for each undamaged part of the document. You must reconstruct the damaged sections of your document.

Method 9: Switch the document view to remove the damaged content

If some of the pages are missing, switch the document view and try to remove the damaged content from the document.

Determine where the damaged content is causing the document to appear to be truncated.
1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
2. Click the damaged document, and then click Open.
3. Scroll to view the last page that is displayed before the document appears to be truncated.
Switch views, and then remove the damaged content.
1. On the View tab in the Document Views group, click Web Layout or Draft view.
2. Scroll to view the content that was displayed before the document appeared to be truncated.
3. Select and delete the next paragraph, table, or object in the file.
4. On the View tab in the Document Views group, click Print Layout. If the document continues to appear to be truncated, continue to switch views and delete content until the document no longer appears truncated in Print Layout view.
5. Save the document.

See: Advanced Troubleshooting steps if the damaged document still does not open