Word Mac 2016 No Recent Documents Site Answers.microsoft.com

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Nov 07, 2016 Recently when I open a word document on my mac, multiple previously opened word documents also open. All of these documents that open are ones which I have opened from the emails in the mail part of the desktop. Currently 6 previous documents open.

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  1. May 20, 2019  The email addresses from these messages are added to the Recent Addresses database on your Mac laptop. In this scenario, your Recent Addresses will be the same on the two Outlook for Mac clients. How do I delete an entry from the Recent Addresses in Outlook 2016 for Mac or Outlook for Mac.
  2. Important: Some items that were created using new features in Office for Mac 2011 or Office 2016 for Mac might behave differently when the document is saved in the file format used by Office 2004 for Mac or earlier.Use the Compatibility Report to avoid using new Office features that might behave differently with earlier versions of Office.

Note

Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.

Summary

This article describes how to identify a damaged document in Word 2007 and later versions. Additionally, this article includes steps that explain how to recover the text and data that is contained in a document after you have identified the document as damaged.

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.

Update Microsoft Office and Windows

No Recent Documents Registry

Many software issues can be resolved by updating the Microsoft Office and Windows programs.

A damaged document or a software issue?

A Word document can become corrupted for several reasons that will prevent you from opening it. This behavior may be related to damage to the document or to the template on which the document is based. This behavior might include the following:

  • Repeatedly renumbers the existing pages in the document
  • Repeatedly redoes the page breaks in the document
  • Incorrect document layout and formatting
  • Unreadable characters on the screen
  • Error messages during processing
  • A computer that stops responding when you open the file
  • Any other unexpected behavior that cannot be attributed to the typical operation of the program

Sometimes, this behavior can be caused by factors other than document damage. It is important to determine whether the document is damaged or whether the problem is a software issue. To eliminate these other factors, follow these steps:

  1. Look for similar behavior in other documents. Try to open other Word documents to see whether the same problem occurs. If they open correctly, then the problem might be with the Word document.
  2. Look for similar behavior in other Microsoft Office programs. If this is the case, then the issue might be with another application or the operating system.

If any of these steps indicate that the problem is not in the document, you will then have to troubleshoot Word, the Office suite, or the operating system that is running on the computer.

Troubleshooting steps to try if the damaged document does not open

Try the methods in the order given. If one does not work for you, try the next one.

Method 1: Open the damaged document in draft mode without updating links

Step 1: Configure Word

  1. Start Word.
  2. On the View tab, select Draft in the Views group.
  3. Select the File Menu, and then Options, and then Advanced.
  4. In the Show document content section, select Use draft font in Draft and Outline views and Show picture placeholders.
  5. Scroll down to the General section, clear the check box Update automatic links at open, select OK, and then close Word.

Step 2: Open the damaged document

  1. Start Word.
  2. Select the File Menu, and then select Open.
  3. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.

If you can open the document, close the document and then reopen it by using method 6, and repair the document. Otherwise go to method 2.

Method 2: Insert the document as a file in a new document

Step 1: Create a new blank document

  1. Select the File Menu, and then select New.

  2. Select Blank document, and then select Create.

    Note

    You might have to reapply some formatting to the last section of the new document.

Step 2: Insert the damaged document into the new document

  1. On the Insert tab, select Insert Object, and then select Text From File.

  2. In the Insert File dialog box, locate and then select the damaged document. Then, select Insert.

    Note

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    You might have to reapply some formatting to the last section of the new document.

Method 3: Create a link to the damaged document

Step 1: Create blank document

  1. In Word, select the File Menu, and then select New.
  2. Select Blank document, and then select Create.
  3. In the new document, type 'This is a test.'
  4. Select the File Menu, and then select Save.
  5. Type 'Rescue link,' and then select Save.

Step 2: Create link

  1. Select the text you typed in step 1-3.
  2. On the Home tab, select Copy in the Clipboard group.
  3. Select the File Menu, and then select New.
  4. Select Blank document, and then select Create.
  5. On the Home tab, select the arrow on the Paste button in the Clipboard group, and then select Paste Special.
  6. Select Paste link, select Formatted Text (RTF).
  7. Select OK.

Step 3: Change the link to the damaged document

Word Mac 2016 No Recent Documents Site Answers.microsoft.com Download

  1. Right-click the linked text in the document, point to Linked Document Object, and then select Links.

  2. In the Links dialog box, select the file name of the linked document, and then select Change Source.

  3. In the Change Source dialog box, select the document that you cannot open, and then select Open.

  4. Select OK to close the Links dialog box.

    Note

    The information from the damaged document will appear if there was any recoverable data or text.

  5. Right-click the linked text, point to Linked Document Object, and then select Links.

  6. In the Links dialog box, select Break Link.

  7. When you receive the following message, select Yes: Are you sure you want to break the selected links?

Method 4: Use the 'Recover Text from Any File' converter

Note

The 'Recover Text from Any File' converter has limitations. For example, document formatting is lost. Additionally, graphics, fields, drawing objects, and any other items that are not text are lost. However, field text, headers, footers, footnotes, and endnotes are retained as simple text.

  1. In Word, select the File Menu, and then select Open.
  2. In the Files of type box, select Recover Text from Any File(.).
  3. Select the document from which you want to recover the text.
  4. Select Open.

After the document is recovered by using the 'Recover Text from Any File' converter, there is some binary data text that is not converted. This text is primarily at the start and end of the document. You must delete this binary data text before you save the file as a Word document.

Note

If you are using Word 2007 and there is not a file button in the User Interface, choose the Office Button and follow the directions when necessary.

Troubleshooting steps to try if you can open the damaged document

Method 1: Copy everything except the last paragraph mark to a new document

Step 1: Create a new document

  1. In Word, select File on the Ribbon, and then select New.
  2. Select Blank document, and then select Create.

Step 2: Open the damaged document

  1. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
  2. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.

Step 3: Copy the contents of document, and then paste the contents into the new document

Note

If your document contains section breaks, copy only the text between the sections breaks. Do not copy the section breaks because this may bring the damage into your new document. Change the document view to draft view when you copy and paste between documents to avoid transferring section breaks. To change to draft view, on the View tab, select Draft in the Document Views group.

  1. In the damaged document, press CTRL+END, and then press CTRL+SHIFT+HOME.
  2. On the Home tab, select Copy in the Clipboard group.
  3. On the View tab, select Switch Windows in the Window group.
  4. Select the new document that you created in step 1.
  5. On the Home tab, select Paste in the Clipboard group.

If the strange behavior persists, go to method 8.

Method 2: Change the template that is used by the document

Step 1: Determine the template that is used by the document

  1. Open the damaged document in Word.
  2. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Options.
  3. Select Add-Ins.
  4. In the Manage box, select Templates under View and manage Office add-ins.
  5. Select Go.

The Document template box will list the template that is used by the document. If the template that is listed is Normal, go to step 2. Otherwise, go to step 3.

Step 2: Rename the global template (Normal.dotm)

  1. Exit Word.
  2. Select the Start button.
  3. In your operating system, search for normal.dotm. It's typically found in this location: %userprofile%appdataroamingmicrosofttemplates
  4. Right-click Normal.dotm, and then select Rename.
  5. Type 'Oldword.old', and then press ENTER.
  6. Close File Explorer.
  7. Start Word, and then open the document.

Step 3: Change the document template

  1. Open the damaged document in Word.
  2. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Options.
  3. Select Add-Ins.
  4. In the Manage box, select Templates, and then select Go.
  5. Select Attach.
  6. In the Templates folder, select Normal.dotm, and then select Open.
  7. Select OK to close the Templates and Add-ins dialog box.
  8. Exit Word.

Step 4: Verify that changing templates worked.

  1. Start Word.
  2. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Options.
  3. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.

If the strange behavior persists, go to method 3.

Method 3: Start Word using default settings

You can use the /a switch to start Word by using only the default settings in Word. When you use the /a switch, Word does not load any add-ins. Additionally, Word does not use your existing Normal.dotm template. Restart Word by using the /a switch.

Step 1: Start Word by using the /a switch

  1. Exit Word.

  2. Select the Start button and search for Run. In the Run dialog box type the following:

    winword.exe /a

Step 2: Open the document

  1. In Word, select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
  2. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.

If the strange behavior persists, go to method 4.

Method 4: Change printer drivers

Step 1: Try a different printer driver

  1. In your operating system search for Devices and Printers.
  2. Select Add a printer.
  3. In the Add Printer dialog box, select Add a local printer.
  4. Select Use an existing port, and then select Next.
  5. In the Manufacturer list, select Microsoft.
  6. Select Microsoft XPS Document Writer, and then select Next.
  7. Select Use the driver that is currently installed (recommended), and then select Next.
  8. Select to select the Set as the default printer check box, and then select Next.
  9. Select Finish.

Word Mac 2016 No Recent Documents Site Answers.microsoft.com Page

Step 2: Verify that changing printer drivers fixes the problem

  1. Start Word.
  2. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
  3. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.

If the strange behavior persists, go to step 3.

Step 3: Reinstall original printer driver.

Windows 10 and Windows 7

  1. In your operating system search for Printers.

  2. Select the original default printer, and then select Delete.

    If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or select Continue.

  3. If you are prompted to remove all the files that are associated with the printer, select Yes.

  4. Select Add a printer or scanner, and then follow the instructions in the Add Printer Wizard to reinstall the printer driver.

Word Mac 2016 No Recent Documents Site Answers.microsoft.com Online

Step 4: Verify that changing printer drivers fixes the problem

  1. Start Word.
  2. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
  3. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.

If the strange behavior persists, go to method 5.

Method 5: Force Word to try to repair a file

Step 1: Repair document

In Word, select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.

  1. In the Open dialog box, click once to highlight your Word document.
  2. Select the arrow on the Open button, and then select Open and Repair.

Step 2: Verify that repairing the document fixes the problem

Verify that the strange behavior no longer occurs. If the strange behavior persists, restart Windows, and then go to method 6.

Method 6: Change the document format, and then convert the document back to the Word format

Step 1: Open the document

  1. Start Word.
  2. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Open.
  3. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.

Step 2: Save the document in a different file format

  1. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Save as.
  2. Select Other Formats.
  3. In the Save as file type list, select Rich Text Format (*.rtf).
  4. Select Save.
  5. Select File on the Ribbon, and then select Close.

Step 3: Open the document, and then convert document back to Word file format

  1. In Word, select File, and then select Open.
  2. Select the converted document, and then select Open.
  3. Select File, and then select Save as.
  4. Choose Word Document for the Save As type.
  5. Rename the document's file name, and then select Save.

Step 4: Verify that converting the document file format fixes the problem

Verify that the strange behavior no longer occurs. If the behavior persists, try to save the file in another file format. Repeat step 1 to step 4, and then try to save the file in the following file formats, in the following order:

  • Webpage (.htm; .html)
  • Any other word processing format
  • Plain Text (.txt)

Note

When you save files in the Plain Text (.txt) format, you might resolve the damage to the document. However, all document formatting, macro codes, and graphics are lost. When you save files in the Plain Text (.txt) format, you must reformat the document. Therefore, use the Plain Text (.txt) format only if the other file formats do not resolve the problem.

If the strange behavior persists, go to method 7.

Method 7: Copy the undamaged parts of the damaged document to a new document

Step 1: Create a new document

  1. In Word, select File, and then select New.
  2. Select Blank document, and then select Create.

Step 2: Open the damaged document

  1. Select File, and then select Open.
  2. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.

Step 3: Copy the undamaged parts of document, and then paste the undamaged parts to the new document

Note

If your document contains section breaks, copy only the text between the sections breaks. Do not copy the section breaks because this might bring the damage into your new document. Change the document view to draft view when you copy and paste between documents to avoid transferring section breaks. To change to draft view, on the View tab, select Draft in the Document Views group.

  1. In the damaged document, locate and then select an undamaged part of the document's contents.
  2. On the Home tab, select Copy in the Clipboard group.
  3. On the View tab, select Switch Windows in the Window group.
  4. Select the new document that you created in step 1.
  5. On the Home tab, select Paste in the Clipboard group.
  6. Repeat steps 3a to 3e for each undamaged part of the document. You must reconstruct the damaged sections of your document.

Method 8: Switch the document view to remove the damaged content

If the document appears to be truncated (not all pages in the document are displayed), it might be possible to switch the document view and remove the damaged content from the document.

  1. Determine the page number on which the damaged content is causing the document to appear to be truncated.

    1. In Word, select File, and then select Open.
    2. Select the damaged document, and then select Open.
    3. Scroll to view the last page that is displayed before the document appears to be truncated. Make a note of the content which appears on that page.

  2. Switch views, and then remove the damaged content.

    1. On the View tab in the Document Views group, select Web Layout or Draft view.
    2. Scroll to view the content that was displayed before the document appeared to be truncated.
    3. Select and delete the next paragraph, table, or object in the file.
    4. On the View tab in the Document Views group, select Print Layout. If the document continues to appear to be truncated, continue to switch views and delete content until the document no longer appears truncated in Print Layout view.
    5. Save the document.

Method 9: Open the document with Notepad

If the document is corrupted and none of the previous methods work, try to recover its content by opening the document with Notepad.

Note

By using this method, you will lose all formatting. The intention is to recover the content.

  1. Locate the damaged document using Windows File Explorer.
  2. Right click the document and select Open with.
  3. Select Notepad:
  1. The document will open in Notepad with extra code and text around the content.

    Note

    You may have to change the file type from 'Text Documents (.txt)' to 'All Files (.*)'.

  2. Clean the text by deleting all or most of the extra characters.
  3. Select File, and then select Save As… Rename the document to make sure that you don't overwrite the damaged one.

Word Mac 2016 No Recent Documents Site Answers.microsoft.com Free

Go back to Word and open the new document. Once in Word, you can clean it up and try to reapply the lost format.

The following is continually updated information about the status of known issues with Office 365 and Office 2016 at Indiana University.

Word Mac 2016 No Recent Documents Site Answers.microsoft.com Software

IssueDescriptionSolutionStatusLast updated
Sent and deleted messages from an additional account in Outlook go to the primary mailbox

In Outlook, when you send or delete a message from an additional account, the message isn't saved to the folder of the additional mailbox account. Instead, it's saved to the primary mailbox account.

See the following:

• Messages sent from a shared mailbox aren't saved to the Sent Items folder of the shared mailbox in Outlook

• Items that are deleted from a shared mailbox go to the wrong folder in Outlook

Note that you may need to enable Cached Exchange Mode for these fixes to work.

Known issueDecember 10, 2019
Unable to import or export OneNote documents from OneDriveIt is not possible to import or export OneNote notebooks to or from OneDrive for Business (for example, a local copy or other cloud service).It is possible to save individual pages within a notebook to PDF files. Do this in the OneNote desktop client rather than OneNote Online.Known issueApril 29, 2019
Difficulties synchronizing mail-enabled Active Directory groups with Office 365Mail-enabled Active Directory groups that do not have an email address that ends in @exchange.iu.edu will not be synchronized with Office 365.

Contact your departmental IT Pro to have Active Directory groups mail-enabled properly.

Known issueMay 5, 2017
In Windows, hyperlinks in saved message files (.msg) will not open.When you open a message saved into a file in Windows, links within do not work. Nothing happens when you click the links, nor do they open when you right-click and select Open Hyperlink.Copy the URL of the hyperlink and paste it in the appropriate application. Known issueJune 16, 2016
Unable to activate Office 365 apps on iOS devicesNewly downloaded or updated copies of Office 365 cannot authenticate on iOS devices due to multiple prompts for authentication in an endless loop.The problem is resolved on iOS devices running iOS version 10.0.1 or later. Microsoft is working on software updates that may resolve the issue for users who cannot update to at least iOS 10.0.1. In the meantime, you may also contact your campus Support Center for further assistance.Known issueSeptember 15, 2016
Two-Step Login (Duo) screen cut off during Office 365 account sign-inWhen signing into your Office 365 account using any Office desktop application for Windows, the Duo screen does not completely fit in the window and some options are cut off the screen.Press Tab on your keyboard to scroll down and view the rest of the Duo options.Known issueAugust 10, 2016
In Windows, hyperlinks in saved message files (.msg) will not open.When you open a message saved into a file in Windows, links within do not work. Nothing happens when you click the links, nor do they open when you right-click and select Open Hyperlink.Copy the URL of the hyperlink and paste it in the appropriate application. Known issueJune 16, 2016
Incorrect default time zone settings for new calendar events from Outlook for macOSCalendar entries appear to be an hour off when Daylight Saving Time is in effect.To prevent this from occurring on new calendar events, make sure the default time zone is set to Eastern Time (US & Canada), rather than Indiana (East). Access this setting by selecting Preferences.. from the Outlook menu, and clicking Calendar.Known issueMarch 18, 2016
Incorrect default time zone settings for new events from Outlook on IUanyWare while in macOSFrom macOS, using the IUanyWare version of Outlook, calendar entries appear to be an hour off when Daylight Saving Time is in effect.To prevent this from occurring on new calendar events, change your Mac's time zone settings to a city in the Eastern time zone that is not in Indiana (for example, New York).Known issueMarch 18, 2016
Mailto links not working in Outlook for MacIn version 15.36.1, mailto links do not work. If you click a mail link, a new message window opens normally, but it will not be delivered if sent, nor will a copy be placed in Sent Items.Updated to Outlook for Mac version 15.37 or later.ResolvedAugust 16, 2017
OnBase integration not availableOffice 2016 integration is not available for IU's current version of OnBase (version 15 SP2).IU has upgraded to OnBase version 16 SP1, which is compatible with Office 2016.ResolvedMarch 3, 2017
Appointments created in Windows versions of Outlook appear to be meetings in Outlook for Mac.When you create an appointment in any version of Outlook for Windows and then attempt to edit it in Outlook for Mac, it will appear to be a meeting. It will indicate the invitation hasn't been sent, will have the option to Send instead of Save & Close, and will have the Organizer Meeting ribbon instead of Appointment. Update to the latest version of Outlook for macOS. If that is not possible, in Outlook for Mac, while editing the item, click Cancel, which will revert the meeting back to an appointment. Then click Save & Close.ResolvedOctober 13, 2016
Office 2016 installed from the Office 365 service reports that your subscription has expiredIf you installed Office 2016 using the Office 365 service, you must keep your subscription active by signing into your IU Office 365 account at least once every 30 days.

Sign into your Office 365 account:

  1. From any Office 2016 application, in the top right, choose Sign In.
  2. When prompted for an email address, enter your IU username followed by @iu.edu, for example, username@iu.edu. Click Next.
  3. When redirected to log into IU Login, use your IU username and passphrase.
ResolvedApril 4, 2016
Outlook macOS certificate difficultiesAfter updating Outlook, you may see a pop-up warning you that 'A secure connection cannot be established with the server exchange.iu.edu because its intermediate or root certificate cannot be found', and prompting you to either Continue or Show certificate.This issue was resolved with an updated certificate.ResolvedMarch 18, 2016
Skype for Business 2016 difficulties synchronizing address bookWhen using Skype for Business 2016, you may experience difficulties searching for contacts. Also, a 'Cannot Synchronize Address Book' notification message may appear at the bottom.This issue has been resolved with patches.ResolvedJanuary 27, 2016
Office 2013 compatibility issuesOffice 2016 automatically uninstalls the Office 2013 suite. Also, Office 2016 cannot coexist with stand-alone Office 2013 applications, such as SharePoint Designer, InfoPath, Visio Professional, Visio Standard, Project Professional, and Project Standard (as well as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access).UITS recommends installing Office 2016 only if you no longer need any Office 2013 applications that are not part of the Office Professional Plus 2016 suite available at IU.ResolvedNovember 6, 2015