Word – Microsoft Word 2007 documents dissapear off screen when opened

From the article you quoted, from a comment by Stuart towards the end:

I’ve had the same problem in Word 2002 (XP). In my observations below, DM = document map and TOC = table of contents.

Tips to prevent or deal with the problem

• Exclude the TOC until you’re ready to either print the document or convert to PDF. The TOC and the DM seem to interact to create instability.
• Always close the DM pane before closing your file or Word. The DM is more stable when a document is opened with the DM pane is closed.
• Always open documents with DM pane closed. If you’re uncertain, start Word first, close the pane, then open your document.
• You can tell that your DM is being scrambled if Word shows the “Word is formatting the document…” status bar while the file is opening.
• Always check your DM when you first open the file.
• The only time I’ve noticed a DM become scrambled is on open. This doesn’t mean there aren’t other times it’ll become scrambled. For example, I’d be cautious by closing the DM pane when generating a TOC, or printing or converting documents to PDF, especially if they contain a TOC.
• I don’t know what makes a file susceptible to scrambling on open in the first place.
• As soon as you notice your DM is scrambled, close your document without saving.
• Saving the file with a scrambled DM will permanently scramble both the DM and the TOC. It’s actually the heading level tags that get scrambled.
• Use Word’s auto-backup feature: Tools -> Options; Save tab; check “Always create backup copy.” Lets you roll back one save.
• Create and keep frequent backups of your own, even several in a day if you’re being particularly productive: time is precious; disk space is cheap.
• If you don’t need the really rapid navigation offered by the DM, try using Outline view instead. According to what I’ve read, it’s not prone to scrambling.
• Additional observations: Merging an older, unscrambled copy with a scrambled copy passes the scrambling on to the good copy, no matter which direction you merge (good into bad, or bad into good), or which document’s formatting you opt to retain. I haven’t found any way to repair/recover a scrambled and saved file, but I haven’t tried any commercial recovery products.

To remedy

If your DM becomes scrambled and you haven’t saved your document:

1. Close the document and Word without saving
2. Open Word
3. Close the DM pane
4. Open your file

From another comment by by Jan Zambor :

To repair a scrambled doc:
1. select entire doc (Ctrl+A)
2. go to Paragraph windows
3. set Outline level to "Body Text" (headings will NOT be set to body text, you should end up with the correct doc)

I took a document that I created back in November 2010. In Windows Explorer the file properties show:

• Created: November 23, 2010, 11:45:20 AM
• Modified: November 23, 2010, 7:58:40 PM

So we know this file was created and modified then. I opened it in Word 2007 and displayed the properties. This showed the same dates. This shows that the Word properties are the same as the file properties (just in case Word is doing something odd with dates).

I then copied the document and renamed it. In Windows Explorer the file properties show:

• Created: May 16, 2011, 10:38:57 PM
• Modified: November 23, 2010, 7:58:40 PM

Copying a file changes the creation date. It's the date the copy was created. It doesn't change the modification date. So, if the student just copied and renamed the document, it should have had the original modification date.

However, the student may have made the copy by opening the file and saving it with another name. I did that and my new file has these dates.

• Created: May 16, 2011, 10:42:47 PM
• Modified: May 16, 2011, 10:42:47 PM

Note that these dates are the same. This is a new file as far as the file system is concerned, so both the dates are today's date.

Finally I opened the file, made a change, and saved it. This resulted in these dates.

• Created: May 16, 2011, 10:42:47 PM
• Modified: May 16, 2011, 10:46:15 PM

This shows that the file was created on May 11, 2011 at 4:21 PM, and modified about 37 minutes later. Giving the student the fullest benefit of the doubt, she could have created a copy of the document. She would then have to make a change and save it again about 37 minutes later. It's plausible this was done innocently while proofing the document.

It's also possible that the document was started on May 11, 2011 at any time prior to 4:21 PM, first saved at 4:21 PM, and that additional changes were made and it was saved again at 4:58 PM.

If the document was indeed copied from another document, then you can ask the student for that document. It should have the original dates on it.

Finally, it's easy to fake the dates by changing the PC clock.