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Word Office doesn't work, what should I do? What to do if word does not open. Why can't my Word file open on my computer? Insert an image into a Word document

We wrote quite a lot about how to work with documents in MS Word, but we almost never touched on the topic of problems when working with it. We will look at one of the common mistakes in this article, talking about what to do if Word documents do not open. Also, below we will look at the reason why this error may occur.

So, to solve any problem, you first need to find out the cause of its occurrence, which is what we will do. An error when trying to open a file may be due to the following problems:

  • The DOC or DOCX file is corrupted;
  • The file extension is associated with another program or is incorrectly specified;
  • The file extension is not registered in the system.

    • If the file is damaged, you will see a notification when you try to open it, as well as an option to repair it. Naturally, you need to agree to restore the file. The only problem is that there are no guarantees for correct recovery. In addition, the contents of the file may not be fully restored, but only partially.

    Incorrect extension or link with another program

    If the file extension is specified incorrectly or is associated with another program, the system will try to open it in the program with which it is associated. Therefore the file “Document.txt” The OS will try to open in “Notepad”, whose standard extension is "txt".

    However, due to the fact that the document is actually a Word document (DOC or DOCX), although incorrectly named, after opening it in another program it will not be displayed correctly (for example, in the same “Notepad”), or it will not be opened at all, since its original extension is not supported by the program.

    Note: The icon for a document with an incorrectly specified extension will be similar to that in all files compatible with the program. In addition, the extension may be unknown to the system, or even absent altogether. Consequently, the system will not find a suitable program to open, but will offer to select it manually and find a suitable one on the Internet or app store.

    There is only one solution in this case, and it is applicable only if you are sure that the document that cannot be opened is really an MS Word file in DOC or DOCX format. All that can and should be done is to rename the file, or rather its extension.

    1. Click on the Word file that cannot be opened.

    2. Right-click to open the context menu and select "Rename". This can be done by simply pressing a key. F2 on the selected file.

    3. Remove the specified extension, leaving only the file name and a period after it.

    Note: If the file extension is not displayed and you can only change its name, follow these steps:

  • In any folder, open a tab "View";
  • Click on the button there "Options" and go to the tab "View";
  • Find in the list "Extra options" paragraph “Hide extensions for registered file types” and uncheck it;
  • Click the button “Apply”.
  • Close the Folder Options dialog box by clicking "OK".

    • 4. Enter after the file name and a period "DOC"(if you have Word 2003 installed on your PC) or "DOCX"(if you have a newer version of Word installed).

    5. Confirm the changes.

    6. The file extension will be changed, and its icon will also change, which will take the form of a standard Word document. Now the document can be opened in Word.

    In addition, a file with an incorrectly specified extension can be opened through the program itself, and it is not necessary to change the extension.

    1. Open a blank (or any other) MS Word document.

    2. Press the button "File" located on the control panel (previously the button was called "MS Office").

    3. Select an item "Open", and then "Review" to open the window “Conductor” to search for a file.

    4. Browse to the folder containing the file you are having trouble opening, select it and click "Open".

      Advice: If the file is not displayed, select the option "All files *.*" located at the bottom of the window.

    5. The file will be opened in a new program window.

    The extension is not registered in the system

    This problem only occurs on older versions of Windows, which hardly any ordinary users currently use. These include Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, 2000, Millenium and Windows Vista. The solution to the problem with opening MS Word files for all these OS versions is approximately the same:

    1. Open "My computer".

    2. Go to the tab "Service"(Windows 2000, Millenium) or "View"(98, NT) and open the “Options” section.

    3. Open a tab “File Type” and establish an association between the DOC and/or DOCX formats and the Microsoft Office Word program.

    4. Word file extensions will be registered in the system, therefore, documents will open normally in the program.

    That's all, now you know why an error occurs in Word when you try to open a file and how you can fix it. We wish you no longer encounter difficulties and errors in the operation of this program.

    Problems starting an Office 2013 application

    Similar problems may be caused by using earlier versions of add-ins. Additionally, you may receive this error message when you try to launch one of the Office 2013 applications: Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, or Visio.

    • Microsoft Excel has stopped working.
    • Microsoft Word has stopped working.
    • Microsoft Outlook has stopped working.
    • Microsoft PowerPoint has stopped working.
    • Microsoft Publisher has stopped working.
    • Microsoft Visio has stopped working.

    To determine if the problem is caused by one of the add-ons, start the application in Safe Mode. Go to the Start screen in Windows 8 or click Start and select a team Execute in Windows 7, and then enter one of the following commands:

    • excel /safe and press Enter to launch Excel 2013;
    • outlook /safe and press Enter to launch Outlook 2013;
    • winword/safe and press Enter to launch Word 2013;
    • powerpnt/safe and press Enter to launch PowerPoint 2013;
    • mspub/safe and press Enter to launch Publisher 2013;
    • visio/safe and press Enter to launch Visio 2013.

    If an Office application doesn't start in safe mode, then the problem is not with the add-ons. Go to section More details to view other reasons why your Office application might not work.

    If the Office application starts, disable the add-ons one by one.

    1. While the Office application is running in safe mode, click File > Options > Add-ons.
    2. Near the list Control click Go.
    3. OK.

    If the Office application starts, then the problem is with an add-in that you disabled. We recommend visiting the official website of the add-on and checking for updates. If a newer version is not available or you are not using this add-in, you can choose not to check the box again or remove it from your computer.

    If the Office application doesn't start, repeat the steps above and uncheck the other add-ins one by one. If all add-ins are disabled and the Office app still won't start, follow the steps in Troubleshooting COM add-ins.

    Troubleshooting COM add-ins

    COM add-ins may also cause startup problems. If the Office application is running in safe mode, do the following:

    1. Press successively File> Options > Add-ons.
    2. On the list Control click COM add-ins, and then - Go.
    3. Uncheck the box next to one of the add-ins in the list and click the button OK.
    4. Restart the application (not in safe mode this time).

    If the Office application starts, then the problem is with a COM add-in that you disabled. We recommend visiting the official website of the add-on and checking for updates. If a newer version is not available or you are not using this COM add-in, you may not check the box again.

    If an Office application won't start, the problem is not related to add-ins. Go to section More details to view other causes of problems.

    Add-ins that may cause problems with Office 2013

    Earlier versions of the following add-ins typically cause problems with Office 2013 applications:

    • ABBYY FineReader. Visit the ABBYY FineReader web page
    • Broadcom Send-to-Bluetooth. Visit the Broadcom Bluetooth web page to install the latest version.
    • Intel Send for Bluetooth. Visit the Intel webpage to install the latest version.
    • KingSoft's PowerWord. Visit the KingSoft PowerWord webpage to install the latest version.

    additional information

    You can also start Windows in Safe Mode to see if another program is causing the problem. Read the following articles for more information about troubleshooting Windows Safe Mode.

    The most common reason that you cannot open a word or exel document on your computer, as practice shows, is the lack of programs necessary for this.

    Programs for opening Word and Excel files are called the office suite. Checking its availability is very simple:

    • Right-click on an empty area on your desktop.
    • Select "Create"
    • If in the window that appears there is no option “Word Document” or “Exel Table”, I congratulate you. You have found the reason why you cannot open these documents. You do not have the office suite installed

    As you may have guessed, to solve the problem you need to install this same office package. The most common is Microsoft Office (paid).

    Download and install the package. Now you can open Word and Excel files without any problems

    If the office suite is already installed, but word does not open

    In this case, there are several possibilities for the problem to arise. I will list the most common options and ways to solve them.

    Damaged file

    In this case, unfortunately, you are unlikely to be able to do anything. If you were sent a file by mail, ask to resend it. It is unlikely, but possible, that the file was damaged in transit. It's easy to check - try opening 2-3 other files. If no problems arise, the problem is most likely in the file itself

    Explorer error

    Try opening the start menu and find in the list of programs the one you use to open such documents. Launch the program. Select File > Open in the program window, and specify the path to the document. In some cases this helps.

    Outdated software

    Quite a common problem. Look at what office software package you have installed. If this is Microsoft Office 2003, or God forbid Microsoft Office 98 / Office XP, look at the calendar. It's time to update. If you don’t want to buy an office suite from Microsoft, use the free analogues that we cited above.

    It's broken

    In rare cases, a crash occurs within the office suite itself. It’s very easy to check - if now you can’t open documents that you previously opened without problems, the reason may be in the package itself. Completely remove it, if you don’t know how to do it correctly, use this guide: pa, and install the package again.

    In some cases, when working in Microsoft Word, as well as in other applications in the office suite, you may encounter an error “The program has stopped working...”, which appears directly when you try to open a text editor or a separate document. Most often it occurs in Office 2007 and 2010, on different versions of Windows OS. There are several reasons for the problem, and in this article we will not only find out them, but also offer effective solutions.

    In most cases, the error indicating that the program has stopped working occurs due to some add-ons activated in the settings section of the text editor and other applications of the package. Some of them are enabled by default, others are installed by the user independently.

    There are other factors that are not the most obvious, but at the same time have a negative impact on the operation of the program. These include the following:

    • Outdated version of the office suite;
    • Damage to individual applications or Office as a whole;
    • Incompatible or outdated drivers.

    It is possible and necessary to exclude the first and third reasons from this list now, so before you start correcting the error voiced in the topic of the article, make sure that the latest available version of Microsoft Office is installed on your computer. If this is not the case, update this software using our instructions.

    Incorrectly installed, outdated or missing drivers in the system would seem to have nothing to do with the office suite and its performance. However, in reality they entail many problems, one of which may well be an emergency termination of the program. Therefore, after updating Word, be sure to check the integrity, relevance and, most importantly, the presence of all drivers in the operating system. If necessary, update them and install missing ones, and our step-by-step instructions will help you do this.

    If, after updating the software components, the error still appears, to fix it, proceed to follow the recommendations below, acting strictly in the order we indicated.

    Method 1: Automatic error correction

    On the Microsoft technical support website, you can download a proprietary utility designed specifically for troubleshooting problems in Office. We'll use it to fix the error in question, but before you proceed, close Word.


    Method 2: Manually disabling add-ons

    As we already said in the introduction of this article, the main reason why Microsoft Word stops working is add-ons, both standard and those installed by the user. Simply disabling them is often not enough to fix the problem, so you will have to act more sophisticatedly by running the program in safe mode. This is done like this:

    1. Call the system utility "Run" holding down the keys on the keyboard "WIN+R". Enter the command below into the line and click "OK".

    2. Word will be launched in safe mode, as evidenced by the inscription in its header.

      Note: If Word won't start in Safe Mode, the stoppage is not due to add-ins. In this case, go straight to "Method 3" of this article.

    3. Go to menu "File".

    4. Open section "Options".

    5. In the window that appears, select "Add-ons" and then in the dropdown menu "Control" select "Word Add-ins" and click on the button "Go".

      In the window that opens with a list of active add-ons, if any are there, follow the steps described in steps 7 and below of the current instructions.

    6. If on the menu "Control" no item "Word Add-ins" or it is not available, select an option from the drop-down list "COM add-ins" and click on the button "Go".

    7. Uncheck one of the add-ons in the list (it’s better to go in order) and click "OK".

    8. Close Word and launch it again, this time in normal mode. If the program works normally, it means that the cause of the error lay in the add-on you disabled. Unfortunately, you will have to stop using it.

    9. If the error appears again, use the method described above to launch the text editor in safe mode and disable another add-in, then restart Word again. Do this until the error disappears, and when this happens, you will know which specific add-in is causing it. Therefore, everything else can be turned back on.

      10. According to Microsoft Office support representatives, the following add-ons are most often the cause of the error we are considering:

    • PowerWord;
    • Dragon Naturally Speaking.

    If you use any of them, it is safe to say that it is precisely this that provokes the problem, negatively affecting the performance of Word.

    Microsoft Word is the most important and necessary tool for any office work. And the number of functions it possesses will shock any person. We have selected 20 tips that will help simplify your work with Word and automate some routine tasks. You can check out similar material for Excel.

    Inserting date and time

    You can quickly insert a date using the key combination Shift + Alt + D. The date will be inserted in the format DD.MM.YY. The same operation can be done over time using the combination Shift + Alt + T.

    Quick case change

    If you do not yet know touch typing, then CAPS LOCK can play a cruel joke on you. By accidentally turning it on and not looking at the screen, you can type a mountain of text that will have to be deleted and rewritten from scratch because of one pressed button. But by selecting the text you want and pressing Shift + F3, you will change the case from uppercase to lowercase.

    Cursor acceleration

    Typically, if you move the cursor using the arrows, it moves one letter at a time. To speed up its movement, hold down the Ctrl key together with the arrow.

    Selecting text fragments located in different places

    A very useful feature that allows you to highlight inconsistent pieces of text. Hold Ctrl and select the pieces of text you need.

    Clipboard

    If you use copy and paste (and you probably do), then you most likely know about the advanced clipboard in Word. If not, then it is called by clicking on the button of the same name and shows everything that you copied to the buffer while working.

    Quickly take screenshots

    If you are making a manual, a review of a service, or you just need to insert a screenshot into Word, you can do this very simply using the appropriate tool. Click the Snapshot button and Word will show all active windows. By clicking on any of them, you will receive a screenshot of this window.

    Hyphenation

    Including hyphens can improve the readability of your text and also eliminate long empty spaces between words. You can arrange them yourself or entrust it to the computer. The button is located in the “Page Layout” - “Hyphenation” menu.

    Watermark

    You can add a watermark to your document for added protection. To do this, go to the “Design” menu and select “Background”. Word has four standard templates, or you can create your own.

    Repeat previous command

    A very useful function that allows you to duplicate the last command. If you press F4, Word will repeat the last command you made. This can be entering text, sequentially deleting several lines, applying styles for different sections of text, and much more.

    Setting the accent

    Adding emphasis in Word couldn't be easier. To do this, place the cursor after the letter on which the accent should be placed and hold down the key combination Alt + 769. Important: numbers must be pressed on the numeric keypad on the right.

    Customize the Ribbon

    The top ribbon with buttons can be highly customized. To do this, go to the menu “File” - “Options” - “Customize Ribbon”. Here you can add features that were not there before and remove those that are not needed. Moreover, you can delete or create your own tabs with functions.

    Quickly select a large piece of text

    To quickly select a large piece of text, place the cursor at its beginning and Shift-click at the end of the fragment. It will save time and nerves in situations where you have to select several sheets at once.

    Quickly move through a document

    There are several combinations that greatly speed up document navigation:

    1. Ctrl + Alt + Page Down - next page;
    2. Ctrl + Alt + Page Up - previous page;
    3. Ctrl + Home - move to the top of the document;
    4. Ctrl + End - guess for yourself. :)

    Inserting a new page

    How I hate myself for not knowing this combination before. Ctrl + Enter allows you to instantly create a new sheet, rather than holding Enter with one hand while brewing tea with the other.

    Changing the default save folder

    By default, Word saves all files in the Documents folder. To change this, go to the menu "File" - "Options" - "Save". In the “Default local file location” line, select the folder you need. In the same menu, you can configure the default document format, autosave, and much more.

    Source formatting

    In order to return the text to its original formatting, you need to press the Ctrl + Spacebar key combination.

    Word as a task manager

    If you're a big fan of Microsoft and Word in particular, you can even use it as a task manager. True, first you have to try a little. Right-click on the Features Ribbon at the top and select Customize Ribbon. In the right column, enable the only disabled tab “Developer”.

    Go to the “Developer” tab that appears and find the “Checkbox” element, which shows a check mark (why not). Now, by clicking on the checkbox, you can create lists of tasks and mark them as completed.

    Vertical text selection

    If you accidentally mess up your list, you can highlight the text vertically. To do this, hold Alt and use the mouse cursor to select.

    Protect a document with a password

    There is no need to even say why this is needed. In our age, when information has become the main weapon, it never hurts to have additional protection. To protect a document with a password, go to the "File" tab and select the "Document Protection" option. Now feel free to create a password, but remember that if you forget it, you will not be able to recover it.

    The fastest way to open Word

    Rounding out our list is an incredible hacking trick. If you used to open Word by creating a new document or searching for it in the Start menu, that's a thing of the past. Press the Windows + R key combination and enter in the window that appears winword. If you don't use the Command Prompt for other commands, the next time you press Windows + R, the command to launch Word will automatically load and all you have to do is press Enter.

    Do you have any ways to make Word easier? I'm sure there is. Share them in the comments!