Weird Rectangles

[Stan]

XP Home edition, Word 2003. I opened an old file and instead of text the
entire screen is full of identical rectangles. The file was originally one
page but now when I scroll there are about 20 pages, all full of these
rectangles. Can anyone shed any light on this and can I retrieve the
original file? I am very confused.
Stan

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

That file is corrupt. I found the following but cannot attest to whether any
of these methods will work:

#1 Use the provided "Recover" functions in Word 2003

- In "File" menu, click "Open"
- Locate the word document
- Click the arrow next to "Open" button, and choose "Open and Recover"

Word will try to open the document and get it recovered. If you use Word
with version other than 2003, you may try the following.

#2 Confirm Conversion at Open

- In "Tools" menu, click "Options"
- Choose "General" tab
- Check the "Conversion at Open" box and click "OK"
- Click the "Open" button
- In file type, choose "Recover Text from Any File"
- Locate the word document and click "Open"

This will try to recover the text content from the file.

#3 Convert File Format

- Open the corrupted file in Word
- In "File" menu, choose "Save As"
- In "Save As Type", choose "RTF Format" and click "Save" button.

This will save the file into a RTF format, which keeps the format into a
simpler format. The new format is simple enough and may helps in retrieve
the file content.

#4 Paste in New File
One of the reason for file corruption is the format or style problem. Word
uses the last section tag to link all the formats and style. If copy all the
materials except the last section, the content may be retrieved correctly.
The format or style can be reapply later.

- In "Tools" menu, choose "Options"
- In "Edit" tab, ensure the "Use smart cut and paste" is unselected.
- Click "OK"
- Click "Ctrl+Home" and then click "Ctrl+Shift+End" to highlight all the
text.
- Perform copy and paste then.

 

[Stan]

Tried your first suggestion for 2003 but it didn't work. Then tried Repair
through Add & Remove as described in Help but that didn't work either.
Thanks for your input which is really appreciated.
Stan

That file is corrupt. I found the following but cannot attest to whether
any of these methods will work:

#1 Use the provided "Recover" functions in Word 2003

- In "File" menu, click "Open"
- Locate the word document
- Click the arrow next to "Open" button, and choose "Open and Recover"

Word will try to open the document and get it recovered. If you use Word
with version other than 2003, you may try the following.

#2 Confirm Conversion at Open

- In "Tools" menu, click "Options"
- Choose "General" tab
- Check the "Conversion at Open" box and click "OK"
- Click the "Open" button
- In file type, choose "Recover Text from Any File"
- Locate the word document and click "Open"

This will try to recover the text content from the file.

#3 Convert File Format

- Open the corrupted file in Word
- In "File" menu, choose "Save As"
- In "Save As Type", choose "RTF Format" and click "Save" button.

This will save the file into a RTF format, which keeps the format into a
simpler format. The new format is simple enough and may helps in retrieve
the file content.

#4 Paste in New File
One of the reason for file corruption is the format or style problem. Word
uses the last section tag to link all the formats and style. If copy all
the materials except the last section, the content may be retrieved
correctly. The format or style can be reapply later.

- In "Tools" menu, choose "Options"
- In "Edit" tab, ensure the "Use smart cut and paste" is unselected.
- Click "OK"
- Click "Ctrl+Home" and then click "Ctrl+Shift+End" to highlight all the
text.
- Perform copy and paste then.




--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

XP Home edition, Word 2003. I opened an old file and instead of text the
entire screen is full of identical rectangles. The file was originally
one page but now when I scroll there are about 20 pages, all full of
these rectangles. Can anyone shed any light on this and can I retrieve
the original file? I am very confused.
Stan

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

Repair deals with the program. It's not the program but that specific file.

Try the other steps. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Tried your first suggestion for 2003 but it didn't work. Then tried Repair
through Add & Remove as described in Help but that didn't work either.
Thanks for your input which is really appreciated.
Stan

That file is corrupt. I found the following but cannot attest to whether
any of these methods will work:

#1 Use the provided "Recover" functions in Word 2003

- In "File" menu, click "Open"
- Locate the word document
- Click the arrow next to "Open" button, and choose "Open and Recover"

Word will try to open the document and get it recovered. If you use Word
with version other than 2003, you may try the following.

#2 Confirm Conversion at Open

- In "Tools" menu, click "Options"
- Choose "General" tab
- Check the "Conversion at Open" box and click "OK"
- Click the "Open" button
- In file type, choose "Recover Text from Any File"
- Locate the word document and click "Open"

This will try to recover the text content from the file.

#3 Convert File Format

- Open the corrupted file in Word
- In "File" menu, choose "Save As"
- In "Save As Type", choose "RTF Format" and click "Save" button.

This will save the file into a RTF format, which keeps the format into a
simpler format. The new format is simple enough and may helps in retrieve
the file content.

#4 Paste in New File
One of the reason for file corruption is the format or style problem.
Word uses the last section tag to link all the formats and style. If copy
all the materials except the last section, the content may be retrieved
correctly. The format or style can be reapply later.

- In "Tools" menu, choose "Options"
- In "Edit" tab, ensure the "Use smart cut and paste" is unselected.
- Click "OK"
- Click "Ctrl+Home" and then click "Ctrl+Shift+End" to highlight all the
text.
- Perform copy and paste then.




--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

XP Home edition, Word 2003. I opened an old file and instead of text the
entire screen is full of identical rectangles. The file was originally
one page but now when I scroll there are about 20 pages, all full of
these rectangles. Can anyone shed any light on this and can I retrieve
the original file? I am very confused.
Stan

 

[Stan]

Hi JoAnn:
I tried all your suggestions and still was unsuccessful but I do appreciate
all the help. Some things are just not meant to be. Thanks again.
Stan

Repair deals with the program. It's not the program but that specific
file.

Try the other steps. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Tried your first suggestion for 2003 but it didn't work. Then tried
Repair through Add & Remove as described in Help but that didn't work
either. Thanks for your input which is really appreciated.
Stan

That file is corrupt. I found the following but cannot attest to whether
any of these methods will work:

#1 Use the provided "Recover" functions in Word 2003

- In "File" menu, click "Open"
- Locate the word document
- Click the arrow next to "Open" button, and choose "Open and Recover"

Word will try to open the document and get it recovered. If you use Word
with version other than 2003, you may try the following.

#2 Confirm Conversion at Open

- In "Tools" menu, click "Options"
- Choose "General" tab
- Check the "Conversion at Open" box and click "OK"
- Click the "Open" button
- In file type, choose "Recover Text from Any File"
- Locate the word document and click "Open"

This will try to recover the text content from the file.

#3 Convert File Format

- Open the corrupted file in Word
- In "File" menu, choose "Save As"
- In "Save As Type", choose "RTF Format" and click "Save" button.

This will save the file into a RTF format, which keeps the format into a
simpler format. The new format is simple enough and may helps in
retrieve the file content.

#4 Paste in New File
One of the reason for file corruption is the format or style problem.
Word uses the last section tag to link all the formats and style. If
copy all the materials except the last section, the content may be
retrieved correctly. The format or style can be reapply later.

- In "Tools" menu, choose "Options"
- In "Edit" tab, ensure the "Use smart cut and paste" is unselected.
- Click "OK"
- Click "Ctrl+Home" and then click "Ctrl+Shift+End" to highlight all the
text.
- Perform copy and paste then.




--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




XP Home edition, Word 2003. I opened an old file and instead of text
the entire screen is full of identical rectangles. The file was
originally one page but now when I scroll there are about 20 pages, all
full of these rectangles. Can anyone shed any light on this and can I
retrieve the original file? I am very confused.
Stan

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

There are scads of websites promising top help you recover corrupt files but
I've never used any so I don't know if it's worth trying. I guess it all
boils down to how badly you need that file.

If you have a paper copy, you could scan it in with OCR software. You'd
still have to proof and tweak the formatting but it's better than nothing.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Hi JoAnn:
I tried all your suggestions and still was unsuccessful but I do
appreciate
all the help. Some things are just not meant to be. Thanks again.
Stan

Repair deals with the program. It's not the program but that specific
file.

Try the other steps. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Tried your first suggestion for 2003 but it didn't work. Then tried
Repair through Add & Remove as described in Help but that didn't work
either. Thanks for your input which is really appreciated.
Stan
That file is corrupt. I found the following but cannot attest to
whether any of these methods will work:

#1 Use the provided "Recover" functions in Word 2003

- In "File" menu, click "Open"
- Locate the word document
- Click the arrow next to "Open" button, and choose "Open and Recover"

Word will try to open the document and get it recovered. If you use
Word with version other than 2003, you may try the following.

#2 Confirm Conversion at Open

- In "Tools" menu, click "Options"
- Choose "General" tab
- Check the "Conversion at Open" box and click "OK"
- Click the "Open" button
- In file type, choose "Recover Text from Any File"
- Locate the word document and click "Open"

This will try to recover the text content from the file.

#3 Convert File Format

- Open the corrupted file in Word
- In "File" menu, choose "Save As"
- In "Save As Type", choose "RTF Format" and click "Save" button.

This will save the file into a RTF format, which keeps the format into
a simpler format. The new format is simple enough and may helps in
retrieve the file content.

#4 Paste in New File
One of the reason for file corruption is the format or style problem.
Word uses the last section tag to link all the formats and style. If
copy all the materials except the last section, the content may be
retrieved correctly. The format or style can be reapply later.

- In "Tools" menu, choose "Options"
- In "Edit" tab, ensure the "Use smart cut and paste" is unselected.
- Click "OK"
- Click "Ctrl+Home" and then click "Ctrl+Shift+End" to highlight all
the text.
- Perform copy and paste then.




--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




XP Home edition, Word 2003. I opened an old file and instead of text
the entire screen is full of identical rectangles. The file was
originally one page but now when I scroll there are about 20 pages,
all full of these rectangles. Can anyone shed any light on this and
can I retrieve the original file? I am very confused.
Stan

 

[Stan]

There are several files that are "corrupted" like this but none are very
important. Also, I usually back up my files to a second networked computer
so I am in good shape as far as that's concerned. It's just that I get
annoyed when things are not right. It's more that than anything else. But
then again, we know that computers do quirky things from time to time. Many
thanks for your efforts.
Stan

There are scads of websites promising top help you recover corrupt files
but I've never used any so I don't know if it's worth trying. I guess it
all boils down to how badly you need that file.

If you have a paper copy, you could scan it in with OCR software. You'd
still have to proof and tweak the formatting but it's better than nothing.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Hi JoAnn:
I tried all your suggestions and still was unsuccessful but I do
appreciate
all the help. Some things are just not meant to be. Thanks again.
Stan

Repair deals with the program. It's not the program but that specific
file.

Try the other steps. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




Tried your first suggestion for 2003 but it didn't work. Then tried
Repair through Add & Remove as described in Help but that didn't work
either. Thanks for your input which is really appreciated.
Stan
That file is corrupt. I found the following but cannot attest to
whether any of these methods will work:

#1 Use the provided "Recover" functions in Word 2003

- In "File" menu, click "Open"
- Locate the word document
- Click the arrow next to "Open" button, and choose "Open and Recover"

Word will try to open the document and get it recovered. If you use
Word with version other than 2003, you may try the following.

#2 Confirm Conversion at Open

- In "Tools" menu, click "Options"
- Choose "General" tab
- Check the "Conversion at Open" box and click "OK"
- Click the "Open" button
- In file type, choose "Recover Text from Any File"
- Locate the word document and click "Open"

This will try to recover the text content from the file.

#3 Convert File Format

- Open the corrupted file in Word
- In "File" menu, choose "Save As"
- In "Save As Type", choose "RTF Format" and click "Save" button.

This will save the file into a RTF format, which keeps the format into
a simpler format. The new format is simple enough and may helps in
retrieve the file content.

#4 Paste in New File
One of the reason for file corruption is the format or style problem.
Word uses the last section tag to link all the formats and style. If
copy all the materials except the last section, the content may be
retrieved correctly. The format or style can be reapply later.

- In "Tools" menu, choose "Options"
- In "Edit" tab, ensure the "Use smart cut and paste" is unselected.
- Click "OK"
- Click "Ctrl+Home" and then click "Ctrl+Shift+End" to highlight all
the text.
- Perform copy and paste then.




--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




XP Home edition, Word 2003. I opened an old file and instead of text
the entire screen is full of identical rectangles. The file was
originally one page but now when I scroll there are about 20 pages,
all full of these rectangles. Can anyone shed any light on this and
can I retrieve the original file? I am very confused.
Stan

 

[JoAnn Paules [MVP]]

I've learned that Murphy's Law applies with computers. And it applies often.
There are too many things in life that are more important than a corrupted
file and it sounds like you know that.

Hope you're having a good Monday.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

There are several files that are "corrupted" like this but none are very
important. Also, I usually back up my files to a second networked computer
so I am in good shape as far as that's concerned. It's just that I get
annoyed when things are not right. It's more that than anything else. But
then again, we know that computers do quirky things from time to time.
Many thanks for your efforts.
Stan

There are scads of websites promising top help you recover corrupt files
but I've never used any so I don't know if it's worth trying. I guess it
all boils down to how badly you need that file.

If you have a paper copy, you could scan it in with OCR software. You'd
still have to proof and tweak the formatting but it's better than
nothing.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

Hi JoAnn:
I tried all your suggestions and still was unsuccessful but I do
appreciate
all the help. Some things are just not meant to be. Thanks again.
Stan
Repair deals with the program. It's not the program but that specific
file.

Try the other steps. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




Tried your first suggestion for 2003 but it didn't work. Then tried
Repair through Add & Remove as described in Help but that didn't work
either. Thanks for your input which is really appreciated.
Stan
That file is corrupt. I found the following but cannot attest to
whether any of these methods will work:

#1 Use the provided "Recover" functions in Word 2003

- In "File" menu, click "Open"
- Locate the word document
- Click the arrow next to "Open" button, and choose "Open and
Recover"

Word will try to open the document and get it recovered. If you use
Word with version other than 2003, you may try the following.

#2 Confirm Conversion at Open

- In "Tools" menu, click "Options"
- Choose "General" tab
- Check the "Conversion at Open" box and click "OK"
- Click the "Open" button
- In file type, choose "Recover Text from Any File"
- Locate the word document and click "Open"

This will try to recover the text content from the file.

#3 Convert File Format

- Open the corrupted file in Word
- In "File" menu, choose "Save As"
- In "Save As Type", choose "RTF Format" and click "Save" button.

This will save the file into a RTF format, which keeps the format
into a simpler format. The new format is simple enough and may helps
in retrieve the file content.

#4 Paste in New File
One of the reason for file corruption is the format or style problem.
Word uses the last section tag to link all the formats and style. If
copy all the materials except the last section, the content may be
retrieved correctly. The format or style can be reapply later.

- In "Tools" menu, choose "Options"
- In "Edit" tab, ensure the "Use smart cut and paste" is unselected.
- Click "OK"
- Click "Ctrl+Home" and then click "Ctrl+Shift+End" to highlight all
the text.
- Perform copy and paste then.




--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




XP Home edition, Word 2003. I opened an old file and instead of text
the entire screen is full of identical rectangles. The file was
originally one page but now when I scroll there are about 20 pages,
all full of these rectangles. Can anyone shed any light on this and
can I retrieve the original file? I am very confused.
Stan