How to Repair Corrupted Word Documents: Tips to Recover Text

This article was co-authored by Spike Baron and by wikiHow staff writer, Rain Kengly. Spike Baron is a Network Engineer & Desktop Support Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Spike’s Computer Repair. With over 25 years of working experience in the tech industry, Spike specializes in PC and Mac computer repair, used computer sales, virus removal, data recovery, and hardware and software upgrades. He has worked as an IT Systems expert for numerous companies, including Huntington Health, Blackbox, Honda, and Manufacturers Bank. In his spare time, Spike also builds and restores computers. He has his CompTIA A+ certification for computer service technicians and is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

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Do you have a damaged Word document? Microsoft Word has a built-in document repair feature that can help you recover lost information and restore corrupted files. If this doesn't work, there are ways to troubleshoot missing text. Here's how to repair a Word document on your Windows or Mac computer.

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click File and select Open.
3. Click Browse and select the corrupted document.
4. Click the down-arrow next to Open.
5. Click Open and Repair.

Repairing a Document

Step 4 Select the corrupted Word document." width="460" height="345" />

• Make sure to go to the exact location or folder where the document is saved; you won't be able to proceed if you use the Recents section.

• This will start the Open and Repair command. If it succeeds, the Word document will be recovered.
• To prevent corrupted files, always safely eject external hard drives or USB flash drives and close programs completely before shutting off your computer.

Recovering Text

• If you saved your file in OneDrive, you may be able to revert back to an old version of the file. [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
  • Open the file in OneDrive.
  • Click the title of the file.
  • Click Version history.
  • Select a version to open it.
  • Click Restore to revert to that version.

  and paste the corrupted text." width="460" height="345" />

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  Copy and paste the corrupted text. If you can open the document but the text is corrupted, select all of the text (CTRL + A). Then, copy and paste it into a new document. This may recover some of the corrupted text.

  

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  Try opening other documents in Word on the same computer. Your document may not be corrupt. If you have trouble opening other Word documents on the same computer, your version of Word may be at fault, not the document. In this case, re-downloading Microsoft Office may help.

  

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  • Look at the date/time stamp for the file if you have it on another computer. If it's the same as the "corrupt" file, but it still opens, you may have a problem with the operating system on the computer with the corrupt file or with the hard drive itself.
  • If you emailed the document recently, check the Sent Items folder. You can then download the file to see if Word will open it.

  

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  • Be aware that the .txt format does not support text formatting features such as bold, italics, and underlining. If your document has extensive formatting, save it in .rtf format to preserve the formatting before re-saving it in .doc or .docx format.
  • Some Word documents may be corrupted in such a way that a file saved in a different file format in Word may not be able to be opened again.

  

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  Extract the text with another word processor or text editor program. If you can't open the document in Word, you may still be able to open it with a different word processing program or with a text editor program that reads the .doc or .docx format. Either of these may let you recover the text from your document.

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  Expert Q&A

  How do I recover an unsaved document at work? Spike Baron
  Network Engineer & Desktop Support

  Spike Baron is a Network Engineer & Desktop Support Expert based in Los Angeles, California. He is the owner of Spike’s Computer Repair. With over 25 years of working experience in the tech industry, Spike specializes in PC and Mac computer repair, used computer sales, virus removal, data recovery, and hardware and software upgrades. He has worked as an IT Systems expert for numerous companies, including Huntington Health, Blackbox, Honda, and Manufacturers Bank. In his spare time, Spike also builds and restores computers. He has his CompTIA A+ certification for computer service technicians and is a Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert.

  Network Engineer & Desktop Support Expert Answer

  Use the Exchange Server! If you're in a corporate environment with an Exchange server, there is a backup copy that is saved to the Exchange Server of recent files. So, in Word, there's an option where you can try to recover the file.

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