What to do if: Word document does not open

Majority of computer users store their most important information or data in Word documents. But, what if the document(s) get corrupted?
The document(s) may not open. And the users cannot retrieve or add data to the documents. To overcome such situations, a backup file can be used to restore the data. However, if the backup is not available ,or, if it fails to help, then there is a need to repair word file using a third-party file repair application.

Picture a situation where you attempt to open a document created with MS Word. But, while the opening process was in progress, an error message pops up that states:

“Word experienced an error trying to open the file.
Try these suggestions.
Check the file permission for the document or the drive.
Make sure there is sufficient free memory and disk space.
Open the file with Text Recovery converter.”

After the occurrence of this error message, the document cannot be opened. Moreover, the data stored in the document gets lost as you cannot even access it.

Cause:

The primary cause for such a behavior can be corruption of the document. The document may have got corrupted due to various reasons like insufficient disk space, damaged links in the document, improper system shutdown, virus infection, power failure, and many alike.

Resolution:

You can apply any of the following measures to resolve the issue:

Use 'Open and Repair' feature to recover the contents of the damaged document.
Try to open the document in the draft mode without updating the links.
Try opening the document by inserting it as a file in a new document.
Try to open the document in Word Pad.

In majority of cases, these measures help you in solving the problem.
However, if these measures do not help and the problem persists, then you can simply use a word repair software to repair word file effectively.
A word of caution: Make sure the software repairs the file without overwriting. Hence, it is advisable to have a software that is read only as it will create a good copy of the file while leaving the original file as it is. Also, if the software has an interactive user interface, then it is an added advantage, as it becomes easy to use and understand it. This ensures a hassle free file recovery.