Opening a Word Document when Starting the Computer

Lou has a Word document that she would like to open automatically when she starts up her computer, and was wondering if that was even possible to do.

Actually, it is relatively easy to do. When you start your computer, one of the things that Windows does is to open all the files contained in your system's Startup folder. If it is a program contained in the folder, then the program is run. If it is a document (such as a Word document), then the document is opened, which also means that Word is started.

In order to have Windows start Word and open a particular document upon booting, follow these general steps:

1. Outside of Word (within Windows), locate the document that you want opened. (Use whatever method of locating the document you want; there are several within Windows.)
2. Select the document file by clicking on it once, and then press Ctrl+C. This copies the document to the Clipboard.
3. Open the Startup folder used by Windows. You do this by clicking the Start menu, clicking All Programs, right-clicking Startup, and then choosing Open.
4. Right-click within the Startup folder. Windows displays a Context menu from which you should choose Paste Shortcut. Windows creates a shortcut, in the Startup folder, to your document.

That's it. From now on, whenever you start your computer, the document will be opened automatically.

There is one caution to doing this, however: If Word has problems opening due to a corrupt Normal.dot file, corrupt printer driver, or corrupt document, it is possible that by making the document a part of your system startup, you could make your system unstable. It may be a better idea to paste the shortcut on your desktop, instead of in your Startup folder. Then, after starting Windows, it only takes a double-click to open the document.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (593) 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: Opening a Word Document when Starting the Computer.