Word Hacks [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Hack 51 Troubleshoot Common Word Problems

This hack offers a systematic approach to
fixing common frustrations.

You can solve a number of common Word problems using the same
systematic approach. Typical symptoms include:

Missing toolbars

Word crashes repeatedly

Word freezes right after opening

Any strange Word behavior unrelated to a particular document

There are three likely culprits: your Normal template, an add-in, or
a corrupt data key in your registry. Additionally, extraneous
temporary files can contribute to the problems.

If you run Word 2002 or 2003, Microsoft offers troubleshooting templates for automating most of this process. You can find these templates at:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;319299&Product=wd2002

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;319299&Product=wd2003

6.2.1 Delete Any Temporary Files

Whenever you open a document, Word creates a
temporary file to store various information about the file. Word
usually deletes these temporary files when you close the document,
but they can overstay their welcome and occasionally cause real
trouble when Word or Windows crashes.

The easiest way to delete your temporary files is from Windows
Explorer:

Close any open Windows applications.

Click an empty spot on the taskbar and press F3 to open the Search
feature in Windows Explorer.

Make sure you look in your primary hard drive and check
"include subfolders."

Type the following in the "named"
box, as shown in Figure 6-1:

*.tmp;~*.do?;~*.wbk

Click the Search button.

Delete the files listed in the search results.

Figure 6-1. Searching for obsolete temporary files

Sometimes people (or programs) include a tilde (~) in filenames, usually to force a file to the top of the folder list. Before you delete all of the files returned by the search, first make sure they're really temporary files.

If the problem persists, you need to check the templates Word loads
when it starts.

6.2.2 Start Word with a Clean Slate

Every time you start
Word,
your Normal template loads, along with any add-ins in your Startup
folder. You can also tell Word to start up without loading any
templates [Hack #52] :

Start Word from the StartRun menu by typing:

winword.exe /a

Now press Enter. Note the space before the /a.
This starts Word without any add-ins, global templates, or
Normal.dot. If that fixed the problem, continue
to Step 2. Otherwise, you can skip ahead to the next section.

Close Word.

Use the Windows Find feature to locate
Normal.dot:

Click an empty spot on the taskbar and press F3 to display the Search
window again.

Make sure you're searching your primary hard drive
and check "include subfolders."

Type Normal.dot in the
"named" box and click the Search
button.

Depending on your version of Windows, Normal.dot may be a hidden system folder. In Windows Explorer, select ToolsFolder options, click the View tab, and check the "Show hidden files and folders" box.

Right-click Normal.dot in the search results and
rename it Normal.old.

Restart Word.

When you delete or rename your Normal.dot file,
Word creates a new one based on default settings. If the problem goes
away, you had a corrupt Normal template. If not, check any other
templates loaded when you start Word.

6.2.3 Disable Other Global Templates and COM Add-ins

If your Normal template wasn't at
fault, try your other global templates
and add-ins next:

Find out what, if any, global templates and add-ins Word loads when
it starts. To do so, locate your STARTUP folder
(usually C:\Documents and
Settings\<username>\Application
Data\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP).

Move each of these out of the STARTUP folder.

Close Word and drag each add-in back into the
STARTUP folder, one at a time. Open, test, and
then close Word after each one. When and if the problem reappears,
you will have located the add-in causing the problem.

If the problem persists, you may have a corrupt data key in your
registry.

6.2.4 Delete the Word Data Key

When you delete the data key, Word rebuilds it using
default settings. The data key stores many of the customizations
you've made to Word, so to avoid losing those, first
make a quick backup:

Go to ToolsMacroRecord New Macro (or double-click
REC in the status bar) to begin recording a new macro. Name the macro
RestoreOptions and save it in
Normal.dot.

Go to ToolsOptions. Visit each tab in the Options dialog,
and then press OK.

Stop recording.

The macro you've just recorded includes the current
settings for many of the items stored in the data key and most of the
items in the Options dialog. After you've recorded
this macro, you're ready to delete the data key:

Back up the registry.

In Windows XP, create a system restore point by going to your Start
menu and choosing AccessoriesSystem ToolsSystem
Restore. To restore the registry later, go to the same place and
follow the instructions under "Restore my computer
to an earlier time."

In earlier versions of Windows, select StartRun and type
scanregw. (Windows also automatically makes
backups of the registry every time you boot up your PC; it keeps the
last five backups and overwrites previous copies.) When you back up
using scanregw, the file will be replaced in five
days. As an alternative, you can use the "Export
Registry File" option in the registry editor.

If you need to restore your registry later, follow these steps:

Select StartShut Down and click "Restart
in MS-DOS mode." When in DOS, type
scanreg and hit Enter. Windows will probably
tell you there is nothing wrong and you don't need
to restore, but you can override that.

Click View Backups and highlight the backup you wish to restore (by
the time/date stamp). Then click the Restore button.

After restoring your registry, Windows will reboot into MS-DOS mode
again. This time, type exit and hit Enter to
return to the normal Windows mode.

Close Word. Select StartRun and type
regedit to launch the registry editor.
Navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\version\Word\Data

Use the following list to find your
version, and then either rename or delete
the Data key:

Word 97: 8.0

Word 2000: 9.0

Word 2002: 10.0

Word 2003: 11.0

Restart Word to rebuild the key using the default settings.

6.2.4.1 After you've rebuilt the data key

Restore your default options by running the
RestoreOptions macro you created. Five other
changes that may require your attention will also take place when you
delete the data key:

Your Standard and Formatting toolbars will share one line. To correct
this, select ToolsCustomize and check the
"Show Standard and Formatting toolbars on two
rows" box. (In Word 2000, uncheck the
"Standard and Formatting toolbars share one
row" box.)

The dreaded Office Assistant may reappear. To banish the Office
Assistant [Hack #12], right-click
it, choose Options, and uncheck the "Use the Office
Assistant" box.

You will lose the list of your most recently used files on the File
menu.

You will lose all the files on the Work menu.

You will need to reattach any global templates or add-ins not in your
STARTUP folder.

Once you restore Word to its former state, you may want to export the
data key from the registry (it shouldn't be corrupt
again just yet) to a safe location on your hard drive. Then if you
need to delete the data key again, you can restore it from this
backup and save yourself the trouble of those last five steps.

Phil Rabichow