Crashes, error codes, not responding
When you run a mail merge in Word, some records may be skipped entirely if they contain blank fields. This happens because Word treats an empty merge field as a null value and skips the entire record to avoid printing incomplete data. The default behavior is controlled by the Omit Empty Fields setting in the … Read more
When you coauthor a Word document with a colleague, you may see a lock icon next to every paragraph that only you can edit, while the other user sees the same lock on their side. This usually means Word has created a separate authoring copy for one user, breaking real-time collaboration. The problem often stems … Read more
You open Word and expect to see the Copilot button on the ribbon, but it is not there. This problem typically occurs because your Microsoft 365 subscription does not include Copilot, your license is not yet provisioned, or the Copilot add-in is disabled. This article explains the exact license and configuration requirements for Copilot in … Read more
When you try to summarize a large document in Word using Microsoft Copilot, you may see an error message stating the document is too long. This happens because Copilot has a strict token limit for processing text in a single request. In this article, you will learn exactly why this limit exists and how to … Read more
When you try to insert a JPEG file into Word, you may see the error message “The picture cannot be inserted.” This error typically occurs with specific JPEG files rather than all images. The cause is often a mismatch between the JPEG format version or compression type and what Word can decode. This article explains … Read more
You open Word and see the Document Recovery pane listing files you never opened. This can be confusing and raise questions about data privacy or file corruption. The Document Recovery feature is designed to salvage unsaved or auto-saved work after a crash, but it can also display files from background processes, previews, or temporary copies. … Read more
When you save a Word document to a network mapped drive, you may see the error “Disk is full” even though the drive has plenty of free space. This error occurs because Word checks the local disk’s free space instead of the network drive’s free space when writing temporary files. This article explains why the … Read more
You open a Word document again after it failed to load correctly. The file displays properly, but the yellow or red error bar at the top of the window remains visible. This behavior confuses many users who expect the warning to disappear once the document is usable. The error bar persists because Word maintains a … Read more
When you start Word, you may see an error message stating “Word cannot open the existing general template (C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates\Normal.dotm)” or a similar path. This error usually occurs because the Normal.dotm template file is corrupted, has incorrect permissions, or is locked by another process. Word loads the Normal.dotm template every time it starts to set default … Read more
You ran an Office repair to fix a different problem, and now Word displays the error ‘Microsoft Word Stopped Working’ every time you open it. This error typically means a critical component or registry entry was left in an inconsistent state during the repair process. This article explains why the repair itself can trigger this … Read more