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how do I find the text recovery for my word document

Paul Porterfield 0 Reputation points
2026-01-15T15:30:27.7633333+00:00

I'm trying to open a document from 2024, and it opens a dialogue box that says the file is lost or can't be opened.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows
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  1. DaveM121 884.5K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-01-15T16:05:17.6566667+00:00

    Open Word, select File - Open

    On the Open File dialog, select that file, then click the small arrow on the Open button on the dialog and select 'Open and Repair'.

    Is that process able to repair and open the file.

    If not, do you use OneDrive to sync your files online, and if so, have you checked in OneDrive in a web browser to see if there is a copy of the file stored there that you can download.

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  2. AI answer

    2026-01-15T15:30:36.5266667+00:00

    To recover text from a Word document that cannot be opened, you can try the following methods:

    1. Use the "Recover Text from Any File" Converter:
      • Open Word and go to the File Menu.
      • Select Open and in the Files of type box, choose Recover Text from Any File (.).
      • Locate and select the document you want to recover.
      • Click Open. This method may result in loss of formatting but can recover text content.
    2. Open with Notepad:
      • Locate the damaged document using Windows File Explorer.
      • Right-click the document and select Open with, then choose Notepad. This will open the document in a plain text format, allowing you to see and recover any readable text.
      • Clean up the text by removing any extraneous characters, then save it as a new document.

    These methods can help you retrieve text from a document that is corrupted or cannot be opened directly.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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