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Can't open Word File because of end tag/start tag mismatch error...need XML help!

Anonymous
2010-06-09T00:42:38+00:00

I get the following message when i try to open a word document that i desperately need

  The name in the end tag of the element must match the element type in the start tag

Location: Part: word/document.xml, Line: 2, Column: 96760

I know how to "unzip" the docx files and get to the main document.xml file, but i know nothing about xml programming. Any suggestions? i got an xml editor and found that there are 6 mismatch errors, but i don't know how to fix them. I also don't know how to rezip al the files back into a docx format. I would love any help. Thanks.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2011-04-25T16:26:25+00:00

You're welcome Catherine.

Going forward if you or anyone else comes across this issue again, we have a FixIt solution created that should address this problem.  You can go to the following KB article and it should give you the details about how you can correct these documents.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2528942

Brandon

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  1. Anonymous
    2010-06-09T03:36:49+00:00

    All you need to do is append .zip to the file name. After you add the extension, open the ZIP package and you'll see all of the document parts. To edit document.xml, drag it out of the folder (this will copy the file) and make your edits. Once you're finished, just add it back to the package and replace the existing file.

    Also note you can open the file in Word with the .zip file extension if you want to test your changes provided you use the Open dialog box.

    ~Beth Melton Microsoft Office MVP

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  2. Anonymous
    2010-06-28T16:58:09+00:00

    Hi sorry, but I have exactly the same problem. Could you tell me how you fixed it?

    I would love any help, thanks!

    Mara

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  3. Anonymous
    2010-06-10T03:08:27+00:00

    You can find the file at the following link...

    http://www.4shared.com/file/YYho3zAz/Review\_Notes.html

    I really appreciate this.

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  4. Anonymous
    2010-06-09T05:41:52+00:00

    If the document is not confidential, you could put it online somewhere so I (or someone else) could take a look at it. Someone with xml knowledge can most of the time restore 99% of your document in 5 minutes.

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