Hi Tom:
There are a wide variety of things I do that, taken together, mean I don't
get crashes very often.
First: Shut down Word and then search our hard disk for all versions of the
Normal template and move them onto your desktop or delete them.
Then do the same for all versions of Normal.dotm.
When you next start Word, it will create a squeaky-clean default
Normal.dotm. That may solve most of your problems.
Next: Stay out of the Format>Bullets and Numbering dialog, and don't use
the Bullets or Numbering buttons. Just don't use them.
Do all of your bullets and numbering by applying styles to the text. Start
with the styles List Bullet and List Number. Modify the styles to have the
formatting you require.
If that's all you do, chances are your crashes will almost vanish (at least,
in new documents).
Otherwise, let's have a detailed discussion of what you are putting in those
documents and how you are working with them.
Sorry: old documents that have been corrupted will stay that way, until you
repair them. The two best ways to repair an unstable document are: Save as
Web Page, and "The Maggie".
Save as Web Page
1. Open the document
2. File>Save As... And choose Web Page
3. In the bottom of the dialog, make CERTAIN ³Save entire file² is checked.
4. Save the file and close the document
5. Quit Word and re-start it
6. Open the Web Page version of the file
7. File>Save as and this time choose ³Document²
8. Give the file a different name, so you have the old one to go back to.
9. Check the file for missing bits.
If you choose ³Save Display information only² you strip out the code in the
file that enables Word to re-create a document from it later. By forcing
Word to re-express the file in a different format, you cause it to discard
any code it cannot understand. That fixes the problem, but it can lead to
missing text.
The Maggie:
1. Create a new blank document
2. Carefully select all of the text in the bad document EXCEPT the last
paragraph mark
3. Copy it.
4. Paste in the new document.
5. Save under a new file name and close all, then re-open.
This technique for de-corrupting is known as "Doing a 'Maggie'", after
Margaret Secara from the TECHWR-L mailing list, who first publicised the
technique.
Again, you need to check the whole file for missing text: anything badly
corrupted will have been deleted. It's usually bullets, numbering, or
tables, that corrupt; so pay particular attention to those.
Cheers
Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel
Any hints about avoiding random but very frequent as in several times a day
crashes for no apparent reason? 2gb ram; relatively recent iMac. completely
updated with newest bug fixes.
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John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:
[email protected]