What if Word can't open the document?

The following methods may be able to recover all or part of your loss.

Automatic recovery of unsaved changes.

Word provides a "AutoRecover" feature that helps users retrieve information that has not been saved when a program encounters a problem and stops responding. In fact, after you have to restart your computer and Word without saving your work, the system opens the Document Recovery task pane, which lists all the files that were recovered when the program stopped responding. The file name is followed by a status indicator that shows what has been done to the file during the recovery process. The Document Recovery task pane allows you to open the file, view the fixes, and compare the restored versions. You can then save the best version and delete the other versions, or save all open files for later preview. However, the Document Recovery task pane is the feature that Word XP provides, and in previous versions, Word would open and display the AutoRecover file directly.

Second, manually open the recovery file.

The program automatically recovers any recovered files when you restart Word after a serious failure or similar problem. If for some reason the file is not open, you can open it yourself, as follows: 1. On the Standard toolbar, click the Open button, 2. In the Folder list, locate and double-click the folder where the recovery files are stored. For Windows 2000/XP operating systems, this location is typically the "c:documents and settingsapplication Datamicrosoftword" folder; for Windows 98/me operating system, this location is typically "C : windowsapplication Datamicrosoftword folder; 3. In the File type box, click All Files. Each recovery file name is displayed as "AutoRecover ' Save file name" and the program file extension; 4. Click the name of the file you want to recover, and then click the Open button.

Third, prohibit the operation of automatic macros.

If you have an automatic macro code that contains errors in a Word document, an error that cannot open the document is raised when you try to open the document with an automatic macro that does not function correctly because of an error. In Windows Explorer, hold down the SHIFT key and then double-click the Word document to prevent the automatic macro from running so that you can open the document.