Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Creating a Document Clone.

Creating a Document Clone

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 2, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

There may be times when you want to make a copy of a Word document, without affecting the original document at all. Word 2000 through Word 2003 provide an easy way to do this. Simply follow these steps:

Click on the Open tool, or choose Open from the File menu. Word displays the standard Open dialog box.
Select the document file you want to make a copy of.
Click on the down-arrow at the right side of the Open button. Word displays a menu of choices.
Choose the Open As Copy option. Word opens a copy of the document.

If you are using Word 97 then you need to follow these steps, instead:

Click on the Open tool, or choose Open from the File menu. Word displays the standard Open dialog box.
Select the document file you want to make a copy of.
Click on the Commands and Settings button, at the right side of the toolbar in the Open dialog box. Word displays a menu of choices.
Choose the Open As Copy option. Word opens a copy of the document.

The document that is opened use the same file name, but Word attaches the phrase "Copy of" to it as a prefix. Thus, if the original document you selected in step 2 is named "My Document.doc," what Word creates is a document named "Copy of My Document.doc." If you want to rename the file, you will need to either use the Save As command, or rename the document after closing it.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1086) 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: Creating a Document Clone.

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

Sorting by Headings

Headings are a great way to organize your document. If, after getting your headings in place, you want to sort by those ...

Discover More

Calculating the Distance between Points

Want to figure out how far it is between two points on the globe? If you know the points by latitude and longitude, you ...

Discover More

Keeping Three Short Paragraphs on the Same Page

If you have several paragraphs you want to keep together on the same page, there are settings in the Paragraph dialog box ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

MS-DOS with Line Breaks Format in Word 2002 and Word 2003

Finding the built in functionality in Word 2002 & 2003 for saving your document as a MS-DOS format.

Discover More

Opening a Backup File

If you have Word configured to save backup copies of your document, you may want to actually load one of those copies at ...

Discover More

Moving Quickly Between Directories

Want an easy way to move between directories using the Open dialog box? With just a little bit of up-front typing, you ...

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 four more than 4?

2024-03-04 06:27:30

Paul Hanson

Lots of ways to do it so yes, you could use Save as. I tend to have Windows Explorer open to the directory I am wanting to create the copy in so, in WE, I select the file, right-click, select copy, right-click, select paste.

2024-03-03 10:43:17

Joel Hornstein

Instead of open a copy, couldn't you also use save as?

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.