8 Solutions to Fix Word Document Is Blank When Opened Issue

The "Word document opens blank" issue can, indeed, be annoying. The problem happens to many people daily. But the good news is you can fix it using one of the solutions explained in this guide.

Part 1. Why Does the "Word Document Opens Blank" Issue Happen?

The specific causes of the "My Word document is black" issue are uncertain. But here are the possible reasons for this problem:

• Your Word document is corrupted
• Software glitches
• You're using an outdated Microsoft Word
• Missing installation files
• Add-in conflicts

Part 2. How to Fix the "Word Document Opens Blank" Problem?

In this section, we offer a few possible solutions to solve the problem of Word opening blank. Try the solutions and see which fixes the problem for you:

Solution 1. Check Your Document's Properties

Sometimes, a Word document can be blank because its content is hidden. You can check the document's properties to see whether you're in this scenario.

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open your problematic Word document and select a spot.

Step 2: Expand the Font section by clicking the small arrow, as shown in the image.

Step 3. In the Effect section, uncheck the box next to Hidden. Click OK to save the changes.

If your document's content is hidden, the "blank" issue will disappear after you apply the above steps.

Solution 2. Use the Built-in Repair Feature to Restore Documents

Microsoft Word comes with a built-in feature that repairs corruption issues on documents. You can run the feature and see whether it will resolve the "document opens blank" problem. Here's how:

Step 1: Open Word. Click the File button at the top left corner and select Open.

Step 2: In the "Open" tab, pick the blank MS Word file.

Step 3: Hit the down arrow on the "Open" sub-menu, then choose "Open and Repair."

Step 4: Wait for the process to be completed, then open your document and check if the problem is resolved.

Solution 3. Restore Your Documents With Repairit File Repair

Your saved Word documents may be severely corrupted. In this case, you'll need more advanced repair software to restore the documents. There's no better software than Repairit File Repair. It's an effective tool that fixes all issues, including "document opens blank."

Many love using Repairit because it fixes issues without changing the original file. It offers a quick fix for text, footer, header, font, and more. Repairit supports the newer and older versions of Office 365 and MS Word.

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• Repair damaged files with all levels of corruption, including blank files, files not opening, unrecognizable format, unreadable content, files layout changed, etc.

• Perfectly repair corrupted word .docx files without modifying the original file.

• Provide an easy fix option for text, images, font, hyperlinks, header, footer, etc.

• Support Office 365, MS Word 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, and earlier versions.

• Support Windows 11/10/8/7/Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019/2022, and macOS 10.12~macOS 14.

• Except Word, Repairit also supports all formats of PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, ZIP, and Adobe files.

You can quickly repair your files with Repairit in these three steps:

Step 1: Open Repairit and go to More Types Repair, then choose File Repair to add the files you wish to repair.

Step 2: Once you've added the Word documents, hit the Repair button to repair them.

Step 3: Wait for the process to complete shortly. After that, click Preview to preview the repaired documents. You can then Save them to your desired location on the computer.

Solution 4. Restore a Previous Version to Fix My Word Document is Blank

Restoring a prior version can be one of the fastest ways to resolve the "my Word document is blank" issue. Note that this workaround will only work if the Version History is enabled in advance.

Step 1: Right-click your blank Word document, then select "Restore previous versions."

Step 2: Review the list of previous recovery points and select the latest one.

Step 3: Hit the Restore button to recover your document.

Solution 5. Use the /a Switch to Fix the Word Document Opens Black Issue

Another possible fix for the "Word document opens blank" is using the /a switch. The /a switch is a troubleshooting feature that can determine where the issue may be in Word. When you open Word with the feature, all the add-ins and settings won't load. As such, you can know whether the Word black problem is caused by these factors.

Here are the simple steps:

Step 1: Type "Run" in the Windows search, then hit the Enter button.

Step 2: Type "winword /a" in the Run dialog box, and then press Enter.

If your Word document opens and shows the text, you've found the problem. You can now disable the add-ins.

Solution 6. Fix Word Document Opens Blank by Changing Data Registry Subkey

You can also try deleting the Word Data registry subkey to see if this might be the issue. This registry subkey stores most of the options and default configurations in Word.

Once you've deleted it, you'll restart the Word. The program will then rebuild the Data registry subkey using the default settings. The method is worth trying, and here are the steps:

Step 1: Exit Word, then right-click the Start button. Type "run" in the Search box and click to open Run.

Step 2: Type "regedit" then press Enter. That will open the Registry Editor.

Step 3: Follow the path shown in the image below.

Right-click Data and delete it.

Step 4: Exit the Registry Editor, restart Word, and check if the document opens properly.

Solution 7. Update Windows to Resolve the “Word Document Opens Black” Issue

Using an outdated Windows can cause many performance issues, not just the one in question. So, make sure that your Windows operating system is up to date. Updating the operating system ensures that you have the latest improvements and fixes. That can fix and reduce the likelihood of software compatibility issues.

Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Head to Settings and choose Update & Security.

Step 2: Select Windows Update, then choose Check for updates.

Step 3: Install any updates available.

Solution 8. Repair or Reinstall MS Office to Fix the Opens Black Issue

You can repair or reinstall MS Office to resolve possible software glitches. These are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Type "control panel" in the Search bar, then hit "Enter" to open it.

Step 2: Go to Programs, then hit Programs and Features. You'll find the MS Office from the lost and right-click on it.

Step 3: Select Repair from the menu, then click Yes.

Step 4: Choose Online Repair in the following window. You can then choose Repair to initiate the process.

If the "Word document opens blank" issue persists, repeat steps 1-2. Then, select Uninstall from the context menu. That will uninstall Microsoft Office. Next, reinstall the Office suite on your computer and check that the document is working.

Conclusion

The "Word document opens blank" problem shouldn't stress you anymore. You've learned what could have caused it but, most importantly, how to resolve the issue. The best part is that all of the suggestions discussed above are pretty easy to apply. So execute them, and hopefully, one of them will work for you!