Command Word To Repair Itself

Key to Instructions To help readers follow the instructions in this article, we used two different typefaces: Boldface type is used to identify the names of icons, agendas and URLs. Sans serif type shows commands and instructions users should type into the computer and the names of files.

 

Q. My copy of Word is not working well. I’m getting error messages, and on occasion it locks up. Do you have any idea what could be wrong?

A. It could be any number of things. I would begin by running a full scan with an antivirus and repair utility software such as Norton Utilities. If that doesn’t help, I suggest you command Word to fix itself.

Beginning with Word 2000 Microsoft quietly added a macro command called FixMe that, as its name implies, conducts a full checkup of Word. If it finds something amiss, such as corrupted code, it instructs you to get out the original installation CD and run it. Then it instructs the computer to reload whatever is broken.

For some reason Microsoft hides FixMe under several layers of commands. You won’t even find it if you click on Word’s Help utility (F1). To run it, go to Word Tools and click on Macro and then on Macros . Then, on the bottom of the Macros screen, from the pull-down menu at Macros in , select Word commands and then cursor down until you locate FixMe . Click on it and then click on Run.

Then follow the screen instructions. Good luck.