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how to fix body paragraphs disappearing

Leal, Diana 20 Reputation points
2025-11-20T04:12:56.8333333+00:00

I was writing an essay, and throughout it I had one part of it disappear, I typed back what I had written since I had just done it. However, when I went into reading mode to see how my essay would look to others, my 3 body paragraphs disappeared, and I can't get them back. It only kept my title page and references, but my body paragraphs are gone. Can I get them back? I don't even know what I did wrong since I was signed in and didn't delete it.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For education | Windows

Answer accepted by question author

Anonymous
2025-11-20T05:54:31.9033333+00:00

Dear @Leal, Diana,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. We’re happy to assist.

If AutoSave is enabled or the file is stored in OneDrive/SharePoint, you can check the Version History by:

In Word, go to File > Info > Version History (or Browse Version History) and restore the most recent version that contains your content.

Tip: If you were saving to OneDrive, earlier versions often still include the missing text. Restoring doesn’t delete anything, Word keeps previous versions so you can roll back again if needed.

Visit here for more details: Restore a previous version of a file stored in OneDrive

You can also use Word’s built-in recovery feature:

  1. In Word: File > Info > Manage Document > Recover Unsaved Documents.

Open any autosaved copy that appears, then select Save As.

Sometimes text isn’t deleted, it may be hidden or collapsed in certain views. To check:

  • Switch views: Go to View > Print Layout (instead of Read Mode) and enable Show/Hide ¶ (Home > ¶). This reveals hidden text, section breaks, and collapsed content.
  • Track Changes view: Set to All Markup (or Simple Markup) under Review. Using No Markup can make deletions look permanent while previewing. Large numbers of tracked changes or comments can also cause instability; reducing them can help. User's image

Since I do not have access to your device environment, there may be cases where my recommended solutions do not fully resolve the issue or other problems appear. If that happens, please update me right away with any new details or results in the Comment. I will do my best to support you and help find a solution as quickly as possible.

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  1. Charles Kenyon 167.5K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2025-11-20T19:26:03.7166667+00:00

    It is possible that your body text is in collapsed text. Try expanding all text.

    https://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/outlining.htm#Big_Idea_6

    You could try setting your system to automatically expand paragraphs upon opening.

    • File > Options > Advanced > Show Document Content

    2019HeadingStyleCollapseOptions

    Then save a copy of your document; close and then reopen that copy.

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