Fixing Word

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 19, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2000, 2002, and 2003


Beginning with Word 2000, Microsoft added the ability for Word to "fix" itself. This means that you can instruct the program to examine all its components and reload them from the original installation CD-ROMs. In order to start this process in Word, follow these steps:

  1. Press Alt+F8. Word displays the Macros dialog box.
  2. Using the Macros In drop-down list, choose Word Commands. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Macros dialog box.

  4. In the list of Word commands, select the FixMe option.
  5. Click on Run.

This starts the process. You may be prompted by the program to shut certain documents or programs in order for the fixing to finish. Follow the instructions, as prompted.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (952) applies to Microsoft Word 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. ...

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