Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 10, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
It is quite common, in this electronic age, for Word documents to be sent around the globe as e-mail attachments. The ease with which this is done is astounding to those of us who remember the "old days" of personal computing. If you receive a Word document as an e-mail attachment, there are a couple of things that you should keep in mind.
First, if the document is from an untrusted source, make sure you have some sort of virus protection in place. The attachment you think is a document may not, in fact, be a real document. It could be virus or worm programs that execute directly if you double-click the attachment. It is also possible that the document itself could contain a macro or two that may be hazardous to your system.
Second, if you plan on making changes to the received document, make sure you save the document as a regular file before you make changes to it. In other words, don't double-click on the attachment and then make changes. Here's why: When you double-click on the attachment, most e-mail programs save the file in a temporary directory and then use Word to open it. When you close the document, any changes you made are saved to the file in the temporary directory, they are not saved to the attachment itself. It is even possible that the e-mail program simply throws away the temporary file in the temporary directory. In this case, all your changes are completely lost.
The best bet is to explicitly save the attachment as a file. Then, outside of the e-mail program, you can use Word to load the file and make changes. In this case the received file acts as you would expect it to. If you then want to send the changed file to a different person, all you need to do is attach it to a different e-mail message and send it on its way.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (160) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Working with E-mailed Documents.
Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!
If you try to add spaces to the beginning of a document's file name, Word normally strips them away. This tip examines ...
Discover MoreYou can add custom properties to a document to help with all sorts of file management tasks. If you want to copy these ...
Discover MoreClick the Save button and you expect your document to be saved, right? What if you later discover it wasn't really saved? ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments