Word doc opens document with a blank body

[funkia]

Has anyone experienced the following?

If I open a Word document by double-clicking a file on my local drive
(or a mapped network drive, for that matter), the document opens - if
I look at the window title bar, I can see the name of my file. But,
the body of the document is completely blank - it's shows nothing
except Word's grey application background.

I've also tried various permutations of opening the file by launching
Word first, selecting Menu > Open File, etc., but that produces the
same result: the file opens but I can't view anything in the body of
the application. I also know that the content is there because
(despite the fact I can't see anything) if I copy/paste all the
contents into a text document, I can see the text I'd like to work on.

I can't even see a blank new document either - in this case the body
of the application isn't grey, but white - but I still can't see a
cursor, text I type in, etc. This problem comes and goes and I
haven't been able to discover the cause - it literally, randomly fixes
itself while I'm trying to open a file for the 4th or 5th time, it
will suddenly work, and then revert to bad behavior again.

I've also already tried the "Detect and Repair" option under the Help
menu, so I am out of all options I can think of. Any advise?!

 

[todd]

funkia,

I have the exact same problem that you describe, had it
under Win2KPro and now under XP, this all with Word2000.
You can bet I'll stay tuned to your post to see what the
remedy is, if any.

 

[jreis]

I have a variant on this (Word 2000): When I launch a document, TWO windows
open, one with the real document and one with the grey backgorund. Sometimes
the "real" document window needs to be minimized and expanded before the real
document displays OR clicking to and from the spurious grey-window displays
the document. The spurious grey-window can NOT be closed.

One other really bad side effect is that when "Inserts" (e.g., Cross
References) or Changes using the Search and Replace function are envoked, the
grey-window pops up blocking the "doc" window, making the selection point in
the document invisible! I'd sure like to find a way to turn off this
"feature"!

Any ideas?

--jim

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This general type of annoyance is often a side-effect of the Office Plug-in
in Norton AntiVirus, which can be safely (and very helpfully) disabled.

 

[James J Reis]

Suzanne,

Thank you for that insight. I am using McAffee virus scan. Perhaps it, too,
has this problem. Is the "Office Plug-in" you referred to in WORD or in the
virus scan program?

--jim

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

It may very well. It definitely hooks into Word in some way, but AFAIK no
one has ever figured out how to disable its plug-in!

 

[garfield-n-odie]

If some version of Symantec/Norton Antivirus was ever installed on your
computer, then it's possible that the Norton Office Plugin is still
registered in Windows, even if you uninstalled Norton. Search for the
OFFICEAV.DLL file on your system (include hidden and system
files/folders). This is the .dll for the Norton Office Plugin. If you
find it, note the directory path where it is located. Close all open
applications. From Windows, click on Start | Run. In the Open dialog
box, type the command (including quotes):

Regsvr32 -U "C:\<path>\OfficeAV.dll"

Replace <path> with the directory path for your OfficeAV.dll file.
Click on OK. You only have to run this command once (not every time you
restart your computer). You should get the message:
"DllUnregisterServer in C:\<path>\OfficeAV.dll succeeded."

 

[Beth Melton]

Does your monitor have dual monitor support?

If so then you may be encountering the same problem described in this
thread:
http://www.google.com/groups?as_umsgid=#[email protected]

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[James J Reis]

Beth,

Thank you (!) for that great lead. The problem is solved by setting
HydraVision to "Gather all windows to monitor-1", which I set using the icon
menu access at the bottom of my screen[HydraVision submenu]. I did not have
to deactivate "desk95.exe".

--jim

 

[Beth Melton]

Thanks for the update, Jim. I'll add the information you shared to my
notes on this issue and pass it along the next time it comes up in the
newsgroups.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/