Closing document closes word

Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Keeping Word Open after Closing Documents.

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.

In previous versions of Word (before the advent of the ribbon interface), Word included two Close buttons in the upper-right corner of the screen. The upper Close button was for the program and the lower Close button was to close just the document. This made it rather easy to click the right Close button and close just what you wanted to close.

In the ribbon interface, however, there is only a single Close button, and it closes the program as a whole when there is only a single document open. Now, the best way to close just the documents (and leave the program window open after closing the last document) is to use either of two shortcuts. Using either Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 will close just the current document. When the last document is open and you use one of these shortcuts, the document is closed, but the program window remains open.

Author Bio

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…

In this article, we intend to introduce you 4 quick and effectual ways to keep Word program open while closing the only active document.

Normally, to concentrate on a task, we tend to open only one document in Word. However, after editing or revision, there is the matter of closing the document while keeping the program running. To be precise, this is an issue that users of Word 2010 may run into, for in Word 2003, there is the “Close Window” button on the upper left enabling you to close the document only.         

Therefore, the content below involves 4 methods for you to choose.

Method 1: Reveal the “Close Window” Button

As mentioned above, in Word 2010, there is no “Close Window” button for a single document. Nevertheless, we can make it appear.

1. First off, click “File” tab.
2. Then click “Options” to trigger the “Word Options” dialog box.
3. Next click “Advanced”.
4. Continue to scroll down to the “Display” and uncheck the “Show all windows in the Taskbar” box.
5. Lastly, click “OK” to save the change.

Now you can notice the “Close Window” button is available, such as below:

Here is the effect:

Method 2: Close the File instead of Word

1. Firstly, click “File” tab too.
2. Next click “Close”.

Or you can choose to add the “Close” command to “Quick Access Toolbar” for quick use.

1. Go to the “Word Options” dialog box taking the steps in method 1.
2. Then click “Quick Access Toolbar” this time.
3. Next choose “File Tab” for the category.
4. Find and select “Close” command.
5. Next, click “Add” button.
6. Finally, click “OK”.

Method 3: Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Certainly, in case you prefer using keyboard shortcuts to clicks, you can press “Ctrl+ W” or “Ctrl+ F4”. Either of it can close only the document.

Method 4: Run a Macro

1. To start with, click “Developer” tab then the “Visual Basic” to open the VBA editor.
2. Next click “Normal” and “Insert”.
3. Choose “Module” then.
4. Double click on the new module to display the editing area.
5. Then paste the bellowing codes there:

'Close the only document open but keep Word running.
Sub CloseFileKeepWordOpen()
  ActiveDocument.Close
  Word.Application.Activate
End Sub

1. Ultimately, hit “Run” button.

It’s suggested to assign a button or keyboard to the macro for easy use. For detailed information, you can look up this article: How to Remove the Formatting of Pasted Texts with Macro and VBA in Your Word

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MS Word or Microsoft Word is a software used to create documents such as reports, PDFs, pictured-document, assignments, etc. Microsoft provides features like Adding Images, Adding Visual effects, adding charts and graphs, etc. to a word file. 

Closing a Document

Closing of a document after the desired work to it is done or there is a need for a break in between completing the content of the file, is a very important task, as it helps to prevent the undesired changes to occur to the content. Closing a document doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a need to close the entire MS Word, one can easily close a specific file that is currently open in the MS Word and then continue working with another file. There are multiple methods to close a document/file in MS Word.

Method 1: Using the File Menu

MS Word provides a specific option to close the Word Document after the work to it is done. Following are the steps to do the same:

Step 1: Click on the File Menu Tab.

Step 2: Click on the Close button provided in the options under File Menu.

Step 3: If the file is not saved, a pop-up will arise asking you to save the file. You can choose either to Save the file and perform the save operation or if there is no need to save the File, choose the Don’t Save button.

Step 4: In case, the Close button is pressed by mistake, MS Word gives you a second option to cancel the close operation.

Note: These options provided in the pop-up menu will only arise for the Unsaved Files. Saved files will close directly.

Method 2: Using the Window Close button

If you do not want to use the File Menu tab, then MS Word document can also be closed by the Close button provided in the File Window. 

Step 1: Click on the ‘X’ button provided in the Top-right corner of the File Window.

Step 2: If the file is not saved, then a pop-up will arise to either Save the file or Don’t Save and Close the file as it is.

Step 3: If the ‘X‘ button is pressed by mistake, then the Cancel button can be used from the pop-up to avoid the file from getting closed.

Method 3: Using the Shortcut Keys

If you don’t want to use the mouse and want to close the file, then use the shortcut keys that are provided by MS Word to close a file.

Step 1: Press the ‘CTRL + F4’ keys simultaneously to close the Word File.

Step 2: If the File is an existing file and the changes are unsaved, then you can press ‘CTRL + S’ before performing Step 1. 

On this page, we’ll focus on how to possibly recover unsaved Word documents if you accidentally closed Word without saving. All Provided solutions can be applied to restore unsaved or lost Word files in MS Office Word 2003/2007/2010/2013/2016 in Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP.

How Can I Recover A Word Document That I Closed Without Saving

Do you know how to recover a closed Word file without saving? If you are looking for a way to recover unsaved Word document after computer restart, shutdown, power off or simply when Microsoft Word has stopped working unexpectedly, stay here. 

Most of us may have experienced Word document lost issues in many situations, which can really kill us undoubtedly. In order to provide a better experience in using Microsoft Office, Microsoft added a new feature — AutoSave in all its Office applications, allowing its users to restore unsaved documents, excel files. 

Here, we’ve collected all the possible solutions for restoring closed Word without saving. Continue reading and you’ll find the best method for your case. 

If you have turned on the AutoSave feature in MS Office, congratulations. You can effectively recover an unsaved Word document that is closed without saving or lost due to other reasons from Recent Documents, Manage Version or Temporary files. 

Usually, the AutoSave is enabled by default. If you didn’t turn on the AutoSave feature, a reliable file recovery software can be your last shot for restoring the lost Word file. 

Three Solutions to Recover Unsaved Word File 

Now, let’s go through the real solutions and learn how to restore an accidentally closed Word without hitting the Save button in MS Word 2003/2007/2010/2016.

Solution 1. Recover closed Word from Recent Documents (Word 2013)

Step 1. Open the Word application and go to File > Open > Recent Documents > Click «Recover Unsaved Documents».

Step 2. Select the listed unsaved document and click «Open» to check the content on a new window in Word.

Step 3. Click the «Save As» button in the top banner.

Solution 2. Recover Unsaved Word from Manager Versions 

Step 1. Open the Word application, go to Files and then click «Info» > «Manage Document».

2. Click «Recover Unsaved Documents» from the drop-down menu.

3. Select the unsaved file and click the «Open» button. Then, on the pop-up window, choose «Save As» to store it to any place you like.

Solution 3. Recover Unsaved Word Document from Temporary Files

Step 1. Open the Word application, go to File > Options > Save, locate the AutoRecover folder on your PC. 

Step 2. Copy the file location path in File Explorer to open the AutoRecover folder. Find and copy the unsaved Word document which is saved with .asd extension.

Usually, the temporary file is saved in C:UsersUserNameAppDataRoamingMicrosoftWord or C:UsersUserNameAppDataLocalMicrosoftOfficeUnsavedFiles.

Step 3. Open Word again, click «File > Open > Recover Unsaved Documents «.

Step 4. Paste the .asd file at the file name column and click «Open». Check the file content and save the file to a new place.

If Word warns that «Word experienced an error…», repeat the steps and click «Open and Repair» at the open Unsaved Document window.

For Mac users, you may also read: Recover unsaved word document on Mac for help.

Extra Tip — Deleted or Lost Word Recovery in 3 Steps

The previous 3 solutions are designed for restoring closed Word without saving. As for the saved Word documents on your computer that were deleted or lost due to device error or other reasons, you may need the reliable EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for help. 

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is capable of scanning all over your hard drive where the Word backup is saved and help to find the lost Word document for you in only 3 steps:

Step 1. Choose the Word file location

Choose the drive or a specific folder and click the «Scan» button.

Step 2. Locate your Word files

The software will start immediately scanning all lost data on the selected drive. After the scan, click the «Documents» option in the left panel. Choose «Word» from the category bar. Then, click «Preview».

Step 3. Recover Word files

After previewing the lost Word files, select the desired Word files and click «Recover». Then, select a folder to store the Word files.

Conclusion

This page includes 3 reliable solutions for restoring closed Word file without saving on Windows PC. When the locally saved Word files and other data get lost, EaseUS file recovery software will offer you instant help.

Besides Word file recovery, we highly suggest you enable the AutoSave feature in Microsoft Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint to protect all your valuable files.

Here are the steps to turn on AutoSave in MS Word:

Step 1. Open the Word application and go to File > Option > Save.

Step 2. Click the Save option, check the below two boxes:

• «Save AutoRecover information every * minute» and set the frequency to 10, 5 or 2 minutes
• «Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving» 

Step 3. Click «OK» to save all the changes.

As for the local Word documents and other files saved on your PC, you may use a reliable file back up software for help. 

Further Office FAQs

Some of you may also have the same questions on restoring other Office files on Windows PC. Here we’ve gathered 3 related questions and provided brief answers to help you out:

1. How do I recover an unsaved Word document?

Answer: Yes! When a Word or Office file gets closed without saving, it is still possible for you to recover the unsaved document as long as you have enabled the AutoSave feature. To do so, you can use the Recent Document, Manage Version or locate the temporary files saved on your PC to bring the lost file.

The solutions toward this question are available here on this page for you to refer to now.

2. Can I retrieve a PPT or PowerPoint that you didn’t save?

Answer: Yes. Microsoft Office PowerPoint also contains the AutoSave feature. With this feature enabled, you can efficiently recover unsaved PPT files from the Recent > Recover Unsaved Presentation or Temporary Files saved in the AutoRecove folder on your PC.

For a more detailed guide, you can refer to this link for help: How to Recover Deleted or Unsaved PowerPoint Files.

3. How do I recover Word after MS Office Word has stopped working?

Answer: First, you need to repair the not working Word application. You may end the MS Word task in Task Manager, boot Windows into Safe mode for a quick try. Repairing Office installation, installing the latest update, reinstalling  Office, disabling Add-ins in Word, etc. can effectively make Word application work again.

Next, you can restart Word and restore the lost word files. For the lost Word recovery, you can use the AutoSave feature in Word or apply EaseUS file recovery software to bring all the lost files back.

For a more detailed guide, refer to this link for help: MS Word Has Stopped Working.

If you have more questions on file recovery in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. applications, use the Search option on the EaseUS website (https://www.easeus.com) or go to the File-Recovery page to more answers. 

Good day

I have created a Word 2010 addin using C# (VS2010). The premis of the system
is that a user is able to download a template from a website which contains
content controls (.docx document). The addin then retrieves data from a database
through a web service to populate these controls.

The user would create a list of documents to be processed and populate the
template. When more than one document needs to be created, the addin saves the
template file to the user’s My Documents folder, and opens this «temporary» file
for each document to be created. Once all processing is complete, I save and then close the

document using Document.Close() and open the temp file again to process the next
document. Once all «processing» is complete, I merge the created documents into
one and then word crashes.

Word does not crash if I do not close the documents. It seems that word does
not release the closed documents from memory. Has anyone had any similar
issues?

I have tried to release the object by marshaling, also tried closing the
document with the following to no avail:

[DllImport(«user32.dll»,
SetLastError =
true, CharSet =
CharSet.Auto)]

privatestaticexternIntPtrFindWindow(stringlpClassName,
stringlpWindowName);

[DllImport(«user32.dll»,
SetLastError =
true, CharSet =
CharSet.Auto)]

privatestaticexternboolPostMessage(IntPtrhWnd,
uintmsg,
IntPtrwParam,
IntPtrlParam);

const intwmClose = 16;

var hWnd = FindWindow(null,
this.Application.ActiveWindow.Caption
+ » — Microsoft Word»);

Fault bucket , type 0

Event Name: APPCRASH

Response: Not available

Cab Id: 0 —————————————————————————

Faulting application name: WINWORD.EXE, version: 14.0.4762.1000, time stamp: 0x4bae25b7

Faulting module name: wwlib.dll, version: 14.0.4762.1000, time stamp: 0x4bae2623

Exception code: 0xc0000005

Fault offset: 0x0002530e

Faulting process id: 0xd70

Faulting application start time: 0x01cd770bf88895ac

Faulting application path: C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice14WINWORD.EXE

Faulting module path: C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice14wwlib.dll

Report Id: 57c0f2dc-e2ff-11e1-afc1-a4badbfd4226