Fixing Persistent Template Corruption

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 10, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Brad was having problems with one of his Word templates. The template, after being used once or twice, would routinely get "corrupted." This corruption would manifest itself through the appearance of improper AutoCorrect entries in his document.

The problem in this case may not be the AutoCorrect entries, but the actual template itself. Templates—particularly those with lots of elements in them—can easily become very complex and therefore easy to corrupt.

It is impossible to determine the exact cause of a problem without some amount of trial and error. In this case, try the following:

If you are using Word 2003, open the template file directly using Open and Repair. (Select the template file in the Option dialog box, then click the down-arrow at the right side of the Open button.) This will check the file to see if Word can locate and fix any corruption.
Use the Organizer to copy styles, macros, and other elements from the existing template to a new template file. This will help to clear up some problems that may exist in the actual structural framework of the existing template file.
Reduce the complexity of the template by splitting it into several template files. Place macros in one, styles in another, etc. Attach them to your document as global templates; this allows you to attach more than one each document.
Protect your template files so they are "read only." This should be done at a Windows level, outside of Word. This will protect the templates so that nothing can be written to them. (Corruption most often happens through writing to a file.)

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (150) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Getting Audible Feedback

Want to get a little bit of sound with your data? Excel can provide audible feedback that you may find helpful. Here's how.

Discover More

Deleting Conditional Formatting

After you've applied a conditional format to a cell, you may have a need to later delete that format so that the cell is ...

Discover More

Using a Macro to Set a Print Range

Excel allows you to specify a print range that defines what should be printed from a given worksheet. This tip shows how ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Creating a Letterhead Template

Word is often used to write all sorts of letters. You may want to create a template that makes creating your letters ...

Discover More

Protect Your Document Templates

If you want to protect your templates from accidental changes, the best way to do so is by using Windows instead of Word. ...

Discover More

Editing a Template

Editing a template can be as easy as editing a regular Word document, provided you know where to find the templates. Here ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is seven more than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.