Recovering the Text from Corrupt Word Documents
A client of mine recently had a problem with a corrupt Word document. She didn’t have a backup of the file.
As she had spent a lot of time on this document she was desperate to get it back.
I searched online for a solution and found a “Recover Text from Any File” Converter from Microsoft.
This converter allows you to extract the text from any file, not only Word.
What are the limitations of the “Recover Text from Any File” Converter?
Unfortunately you will lose any graphics, fields, drawing objects and all the formatting.
Below are the instructions from Microsoft on how to use the converter.
Note:
When you change the selection in the Files of type box to Recover Text from Any File, Word will keep this setting and use it the next time that you open a document. You need to reset the Files of type box to Word Document (*.doc) or Word Document (*.docx) after you have finished the recovery of your damaged document.
To Open a Word Document
To use the “Recover Text from Any File” converter with a Word document, follow these steps:
In Microsoft Office Word 2007, click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
In Microsoft Office Word 2002, Word 2003, or Word 2010, click Open on the File menu.
In the Files of type box, click Recover Text from Any File(*,*).
Select the document that you want to recover the text from.
Click Open.
To Open a Non-Word File
To use the “Recover Text from Any File” converter with a non-Word file, follow these steps:
In Word 2010, click the File Button, and then click Options.
In Word 2007, click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.
Click the Advanced tab, click to select the Confirm file format conversion on Open check box under General, and then click OK.
Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Open.
In the Files of type box, click Recover Text from Any File(*,*).
Select the document from which you want to recover the text.
Click Open.
In Word 2003 or Word 2002, on the Tools menu, click Options.
Click the General tab.
Click to select the Confirm conversion at Open check box, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Open.
In the Files of type box, click Recover Text from Any File.
Select the document that you want to recover the text from.
Click Open.
Word converts and recovers all text from the document.
How do you avoid this happening again?
- You could keep versions of your document so you can go back to a previous version.
- Keep a backup of the document in a different location e.g. on an external hard drive or to an online backup provider.
Luckily my client just had text in her document so she was extremely pleased to get this back.
Where can I get the converter from?
It is part of the Microsoft Office File Converter Pack and can be downloaded from here
