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Microsoft Word Mac Troubleshooting Manual

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Summary

This article describes how to identify a damaged document in Word 2007 and later versions. Additionally, this article includes steps that explain how to recover the text and data that is contained in a document after you have identified the document as damaged.

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.

Update Microsoft Office and Windows

Many software issues can be resolved by updating the Microsoft Office and Windows programs.

A damaged document or a software issue?

A Word document can become corrupted for several reasons that will prevent you from opening it. This behavior may be related to damage to the document or to the template on which the document is based. This behavior might include the following:

Repeatedly renumbers the existing pages in the document
Repeatedly redoes the page breaks in the document
Incorrect document layout and formatting
Unreadable characters on the screen
Error messages during processing
A computer that stops responding when you open the file
Any other unexpected behavior that cannot be attributed to the typical operation of the program

Microsoft Word Mac Free Download

Sometimes, this behavior can be caused by factors other than document damage. It is important to determine whether the document is damaged or whether the problem is a software issue. To eliminate these other factors, follow these steps:

Look for similar behavior in other documents. Try to open other Word documents to see whether the same problem occurs. If they open correctly, then the problem might be with the Word document.
Look for similar behavior in other Microsoft Office programs. If this is the case, then the issue might be with another application or the operating system.

If any of these steps indicate that the problem is not in the document, you will then have to troubleshoot Word, the Office suite, or the operating system that is running on the computer.

Troubleshooting steps to try if the damaged document does not open

Try the methods in the order given. If one does not work for you, try the next one.

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

Step 1: Configure Word

Start Word.
On the View tab, select Draft in the Views group.
Select the File Menu, and then Options, and then Advanced.
In the Show document content section, select Use draft font in Draft and Outline views and Show picture placeholders.
Scroll down to the General section, clear the check box Update automatic links at open, select OK, and then close Word.

Step 2: Open the damaged document

Start Word.
Select the File Menu, and then select Open.
Select the damaged document, and then select 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 as a file in a new document

Step 1: Create a new blank document

Select the File Menu, and then select New.
Select Blank document, and then select Create.
Note
You might have to reapply some formatting to the last section of the new document.

Step 2: Insert the damaged document into the new document

On the Insert tab, select Insert Object, and then select Text From File.
In the Insert File dialog box, locate and then select the damaged document. Then, select Insert.
Note
You might 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

Microsoft Word Mac Troubleshooting Manual

In Word, select the File Menu, and then select New.
Select Blank document, and then select Create.
In the new document, type 'This is a test.'
Select the File Menu, and then select Save.
Type 'Rescue link,' and then select Save.

Step 2: Create link

Select the text you typed in step 1-3.
On the Home tab, select Copy in the Clipboard group.
Select the File Menu, and then select New.
Select Blank document, and then select Create.
On the Home tab, select the arrow on the Paste button in the Clipboard group, and then select Paste Special.
Select Paste link, select Formatted Text (RTF).
Select OK.

Step 3: Change the link to the damaged document

Right-click the linked text in the document, point to Linked Document Object, and then select Links.
In the Links dialog box, select the file name of the linked document, and then select Change Source.
In the Change Source dialog box, select the document that you cannot open, and then select Open.
Select 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 select Links.
In the Links dialog box, select Break Link.
When you receive the following message, select Yes: Are you sure you want to break the selected links?

Method 4: Use the 'Recover Text from Any File' converter

Note

The 'Recover Text from Any File' converter has limitations. For example, document formatting is lost. Additionally, 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 simple text.

In Word, select the File Menu, and then select Open.
In the Files of type box, select Recover Text from Any File(.).
Select the document from which you want to recover the text.
Select 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 primarily at the start and end of the document. You must delete this binary data text before you save the file as a Word document.

Note

If you are using Word 2007 and there is not a file button in the User Interface, choose the Office Button and follow the directions when necessary.