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: Keeping Word Open after Closing Documents.

Keeping Word Open after Closing Documents

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 21, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Paul notes that in Excel he can close all workbooks and the application still remains active. He would like to be able to close all the documents in Word and have the program still remain open, as well. He wonders if there is some way to configure Word to behave in this way.

How the Word program behaves when you close the last document can vary, depending on your version of Word. That it, it varies if you use the Close button in the upper-right corner of the screen to close your documents.

If you want to make sure that the program remains open after closing all documents, you should make sure that you should click the document Close button instead of the program Close button. You can tell the difference between the two because the program Close button has a 3-D appearance while the document Close button does not. In addition, the document Close button is located lower on the screen than the program Close button. Click the document Close button, and the program window should remain open whether it contains documents or not.

You can also choose to close documents by using one of two shortcuts: either Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4. Using either one is the same as clicking on the document Close button. When the last document is open and you use one of these shortcuts, the document is closed, but the program window remains open.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9989) 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: Keeping Word Open after Closing Documents.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Saving Custom Formats

While the implementation of custom formats in Excel is not terribly robust, you can still achieve some amazing results ...

Discover More

Ignoring Punctuation in Names

If you have a word that includes punctuation as part of the word itself, then you may be frustrated by how Word treats ...

Discover More

Easily Finding Superscripts

Word has a powerful Find and Replace capability, but sometimes it can be tricky to figure out exactly how to use it. Here ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Misbehaving Rulers

When upgrading from Word 2000 to 2002, many people have a problem with the Ruler function. This tip explains how to fix ...

Discover More

Changing the Comment Color

If you don't like the default color used for comments in a document, you can't change them in Word. You can, however, ...

Discover More

Horizontally Viewing All Your Text

If you are viewing a document and your text runs off the right side of the document window, it can be a real bother to ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is two minus 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.