Microsoft Word Crashing: A few quick fixes

 If only there were a simple answer to this question. Microsoft Office Word is a powerful wordprocessing program that requires quite a bit of processing power in order to run. In addition to that it is deeply integrated into your computer's file systems creating and updating files constantly during useage. One of the main reasons that word crashes is that people overload it by running too many documents at once. In some firms it is not unusual to see fifteen or twenty word documents open. If you do this, stop now! Word will almost certainly crash on a regular basis under this type of strain and you will lose work.

Microsoft Word runs many backups and these can save your work, but they also accumilate data on your hard drive and this too can lead to problems. In this tutuorial we'll talk about safe ways to remove some of this junk.

Finally there are issues with the Normal.dot template file. You know what this file looks like even if you didn't realise it. The Normal.dot template is what you see when you first open word, it's the blank white page onto which you type. Over time this file can become overloaded or corrupted due to handling different file types and formats. When it becomes bloated, word starts to fail. We'll talk about how to deal with this too.

Does this sound familiar?

"Oh my PC is running slow, can you delete some temp files for me please?"

It's a common question posed to most IT Servicedesk Professionals on a regular basis. But if you're on your own... which ones do you delete?

What are They?

Temp files are really just backups. Some applications store info in them. Microsoft Internet Explorer for example stores Temporary Internet Files to allow certain web pages to open more easily by holding images etc. Word stores backups of file information in the same way. Essentially it would not be a disaster if you deleted your temp files, after all, any that your pc is currently using won't allow you to do so. Some data may be lost, but if you've been saving and backing up your files properly this won't really effect you.

Which Ones Effect Microsoft Word?

On your PC, if you right-click on the start button and go to "Explore" or "Windows Explorer", then into the C: Drive, "Documents and Settings" then your profile name (Your user name), "Local Settings" and "Temp" you will see a whole list of files. This directory can become very full of junk. To clear it down with minimum risk, change the "View" settings to "Details". Next, click the "Date Modified" Heading to sort the files by date. Do not remove any files with today's date! Any other files can be highlighted and deleted safely. If you recieve an error saying that a certain file cannot be deleted, don't worry, that simply means that the computer using it and it's best not to anyway.

Will This Help?

In a word, yes. If Microsoft Word is behaving strangely, hanging, going slow or closing down unexpectedly this is the first thing you would do.

Now we come to one of the most peculiar features of Microsoft Word. As we explained earlier, the Normal.dot is simply a template for blank documents. But it is endlessly problematic. Working on an IT Servicedesk for over six years I can honestly say that I have deleted at least one Normal.dot file for nearly every day I've worked in the job.

What's the Problem with it?

Somewhere in the control rooms of Microsoft you may find the answer to this question. All you need to know is that, for whatever reason, the Normal.dot file bloats in size over time. In some cases this can happen very quickly. The file should, normally, be about 50K in size or even less. I've seen these files bloated to 12 meg before, and when they do, Word becomes very unstable indeed. If word is crashing, or doing strange things, your next port of call is the Normal.dot file. Locate it, and delete it!

Where is it?

 There are many little processes or "Macros" which run within word, too many to list here. Suffice to say that together they make the application run smoothly and securely. Occasionally, one of these processes may stop working. Often this happens due to a problem with a document which then crashed. Word looks to debug the issue and in so doing may disable certain things. A general rule of thumb is to enable any disabled processes when Word is up and running again. After all, if a process has been disabled, the chances are you need it.

How to Enable Disabled Items

This is really easy. On the Standard Toolbar at the top of Word. Click "Help" and then "About Microsoft Word". You'll see a button in this menu called "Disabled Items". Click this and then highlight and "Enable" all the items you see. Save the changes.

These are just a few basic fixes that can save you time, effort and frustration. If word starts to misbehave, check these three things. In most cases they will make a difference, in some they will transfom the program from a monster to a friend. It's worth a try, trust me!