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: Opening a Backup File.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 19, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
In other issues of WordTips you learned that Word does not automatically save backup files of your documents, but that you can enable such a feature. If you instruct Word to save backup files, there will undoubtedly come a time when you want to open one of the backup files. The process of opening a backup file is very similar to the process of opening a regular document. Follow these steps:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1180) 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 Backup File.
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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:
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