How do I make the Home Tab the default in Word? The default was Home, but switched to File somehow. None of the ribbons are minimized.

If you can use the Home tab, but it disappears after you click a button on it, then you have the ribbon set to be minimized. There are four different ways (!) to make it stay maximized:

1. Click the small arrow in the upper right corner, next to the blue Help icon and just below the "Close the program" X button.
2. Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F1.
3. Double-click any of the tabs (Home, Insert, etc.).
4. Right-click on any of the tabs and click "Minimize the Ribbon" (the last item on the menu) to remove the check mark next to it.

Each of these is a toggle -- that is, each time you do any of them, the ribbon switches between minimized and maximized.

The Home tab should be active each time you open Word. After that, though, there is no way to keep the Home tab active all the time, by design. Whatever command you used last, that command's tab will stay active until either (a) you click another tab to get a different command or (b) you click on something -- a table, a picture, a header or footer, etc. -- that causes one of the "contextual" tabs to appear.

There are really only two alternatives. One is to put the commands you use most onto the Quick Access Toolbar. You can right-click any ribbon group, or many of the individual command buttons, and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar. Then they'll be accessible regardless of which ribbon tab is active.

The other alternative is to learn and use the keyboard shortcuts for common commands, especially the ones in the Home tab. For example:

Ctrl+C = Copy

Ctrl+V = Paste

Ctrl+X = Cut

Ctrl+S = Save

Ctrl+P = Print

Ctrl+F = Find

Ctrl+Shift+F = Font dialog

Ctrl+Shift+S = Apply Style dialog

Look in the Help (shortcut F1) for the topic "keyboard shortcuts" to see a list of them, as well as how to assign your own.

Try File > Options > Customize Ribbon > ensure Home is in the list in the right pane, with a check mark beside it.