How to Repair Corrupted Word Documents: Tips to Recover Text

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Learn how to repair a corrupted Word document and recover lost text

Co-authored by Spike Baron and Rain Kengly

Last Updated: November 14, 2024 Fact Checked

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Repairing a Document

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Recovering Text

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Video

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Expert Q&A

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.

Quick Steps

Open Microsoft Word.
Click File and select Open.
Click Browse and select the corrupted document.
Click the down-arrow next to Open.
Click Open and Repair.

Section 1 of 2:

Repairing a Document

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Do not open the corrupted file.
This is at the top-left corner of the screen.

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You'll need to navigate to the corrupted Word document.
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Select the corrupted Word document. The file name should be highlighted only—don't double-click to open it.
- 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.
A drop-down menu will open with more options.
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Click Open and Repair. This is towards the bottom of the menu.
- 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.

Section 2 of 2:

Recovering Text

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1
Use a previous version of the document. If you have a backup file saved somewhere, you may be able to open it if it's not corrupted.
- If you saved your file in OneDrive, you may be able to revert back to an old version of the file.^{[1]
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  - 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.
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.
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 for other copies of your document. If you have a copy of your document on another computer or sent it via email, you may still have a good copy to work with.
- 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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Save the document in a different file format. If you can open the document with your version of Word, saving it in a format such as .rtf (rich text format) or .txt (ASCII text format) may strip out whatever codes corrupted the file in .doc or .docx format. After opening the converted document, you can re-save a new version in .doc or .docx format to see if the problem returns.
- 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.
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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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.

Spike Baron

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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