Fix Blank Word Document: Word Opens But Does Not Display Document [5 Ways]

Saved Word document is blank when opened? This is a common and tricky Word problem that many users may run into. This post explains why Word document suddenly goes blank and how to fix the issue to recover blank Word document. Use Stellar Toolkit for File Repair to repair corrupted or damaged Word files with ease.

Quick navigation to the methods for blank Word documents problem:

Issue - Saved Word Document Now Blank

"I was working on a Word document (about 5 pages of a report) for a long time yesterday and saved it several times. But this morning, when I tried to open the document, it just showed up empty with no text. I am in huge trouble. Why is my saved Word document blank when I open it? How can I recover the blank Word documents? Any solutions?"

The causes of Microsoft saving a Word document opening but not displaying the document are uncertain. There are two reasons for this problem. 

• The document has been corrupted in some way. In this case, the content of your Word document is gone, and the file shows up as empty.
• Malware, viruses, or other external threats attack the Word and lead to empty Word documents.  

When you encounter the saved Word document is blank when opened, how to troubleshoot? The next part covers the answers. If your Word document opens blank because you forgot to save it, the solution is different. Read the article on how to recover unsaved Word documents in Windows 10. 

On this page, we offer you a few possible solutions to solve the saved Word document now blank issue. Try each one in turn until the problem is fixed. 

Fix 1. Open Blank Word Document Using Open and Repair Tool

This built-in Microsoft Word feature will then fix the problem of corruption detected within these documents.

1. 1. Start Word.
2. 2. On the File menu or the Microsoft Office button, click "Open".
3. 3. In the Open dialog box, click to select the blank Word file.
4. 4. Click the down arrow on the Open button, then click "Open and Repair".

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Fix 2. Recover Word Documents with File Repair Software 

If the saved Word document is corrupted, you may not open it, or it may be blank when opened. Under this circumstance, you need a Word document repair tool. EaseUS Fixo Document Repair allows you to repair any corrupted photos, videos, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or other files with ease.

Before you are going to solve the Word document, it is blank when opening the issue; watch this video first. It provides you with more details on Word document recovery.

• 00:14 - Method 1. Insert to a new Word document
• 00:38 - Method 2. Use open and repair
• 00:55 - Method 3. Default settings
• 01:30 - Method 4. EaseUS Fixo Document Repair

EaseUS Fixo for file repair key features:

• Repair corrupted Word in .doc and .docx formats from any kind of corruption
• Fix severely corrupted XLS and XLSX files without modifying their original format
• Repair corrupt PDF documents, including extracting the text, comments, labels, graphics, etc. from the PDF file
• Repair corrupted files from PC, laptop, external hard drive, SD card, USB flash drive, etc.

Download and install this file repair program on your PC and follow the steps below to fix blank Word documents. 

Step 1. Download and launch Fixo on your PC or laptop. Choose "File Repair" to repair corrupted Office documents, including Word, Excel, PDF, and others. Click "Add Files" to select corrupted documents.

Step 2. To repair multiple files at once, click the "Repair All" button. If you want to repair a single document, move your pointer to the target file and choose "Repair". You can also preview the documents by clicking the eye icon.

Step 3. Click "Save" to save a selected document. Select "Save All" to save all the repaired files. Choose "View Repaired" to locate the repaired folder.

Fix 3. Start Blank Word by Using the /a Switch

Another way you can take to fix Word document blank when opened problem is using the /a switch. The /a switch is a troubleshooting tool that can determine where the problem may be in Word.

When you open Word with /a switch, all the add-ins, global templates, and settings won’t load, so you can determine if the Work blank issue is caused by these factors.

Follow these steps:

1. 1. Type Run in the Search box and then press Enter.
2. 2. Type winword /a in the Run dialog box, and press Enter.

If the Word document opens with text, the problem is found. And you need to disable the add-ins. If your Word document is still blank, try the next option. Or you can install the EaseUS software on your computer to fix the blank Word document error.

Fix 4. Fix Blank Word Document by Deleting Word Data Registry Subkey

One of the common solutions to fix the Word problem is deleting the Word Data registry subkey, which stores most of the options and default settings in Word.

When you restart Word, the program will rebuild the Word Data registry subkey by using the default settings. Hope this method helps you.

1. 1. Exit Word, right-click the Start button, then choose Run.
2. 2. Type regedit, then press Enter to start the Registry Editor.

1. 3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data. Right-click "Data" and delete it.

1. 4. Exit the Registry Editor and restart Word.

Fix 5. Restore a Blank Word Document from Previous Versions

Some users have reported that this workaround is effective in bringing back blank Word files. It is worth giving it a try. But note that, to restore a file from the previous versions, you need to enable the File History or restore points in advance; otherwise, this won't be available. 

1. 1. Right-click the blank Word document and choose "Restore previous versions". 
2. 2. In the list of previous recovery points, choose the latest one.
3. 3. Click the "Restore" button to recover it back. 

To Sum Up

We believe that after trying the above approaches, you can fix the Word document, which is blank when opened. To repair damaged Word documents, try EaseUS Fixo, which can fix your corrupted files efficiently.