Can't open Word File because of end tag/start tag mismatch error...need XML help!

Anonymous
2010-06-09T00:42:38+00:00

I get the following message when i try to open a word document that i desperately need

  The name in the end tag of the element must match the element type in the start tag

Location: Part: word/document.xml, Line: 2, Column: 96760

I know how to "unzip" the docx files and get to the main document.xml file, but i know nothing about xml programming. Any suggestions? i got an xml editor and found that there are 6 mismatch errors, but i don't know how to fix them. I also don't know how to rezip al the files back into a docx format. I would love any help. Thanks.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2011-04-25T16:26:25+00:00

You're welcome Catherine.

Going forward if you or anyone else comes across this issue again, we have a FixIt solution created that should address this problem.  You can go to the following KB article and it should give you the details about how you can correct these documents.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2528942

Brandon

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-04-21T17:28:59+00:00

    Thanks again!

    I've downloaded the Rebuilder and tested it on my previous version of the document, but it couldn't rebuild it. It said I had to debug the code....

    The VB screen said:  General                 FannyAbout

    The highlighted code said:

    .LoadFromFile WorkXMLFileFullName

    Is there something I could do to the document to stop this problem from happening again?

    I've removed some of the graphics already and certainly haven't added any more.

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  2. Anonymous
    2011-04-21T16:27:31+00:00

    @CatherineMc Gavigan,

    The repaired file is here. Look toward File in the top left corner for your download options.

    If this is happening regularly, you should get the Rebuilder template mentioned above from here and learn to use it. It will fix most oMath errors. The process is pretty straight-forward and with the ability to perform self-repairs, you should save a lot of time.

    1. Download the Rebuilder.dotm Microsoft Office Word Macro-Enabled Template (.dotm) and open it.
    2. Click Options button on the Security warning and select Enable this content

    !\[\](http://xfprpw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pwRE3ELG_o830OxtH-mAomTC4zwDe5r1q04IDEueKSrBGZv6dPJmxyRbzj8UITDryBZD4RUsVgnLb80KzvAsMiLuz7lJXWLYi/Rebuilder_Security_Warning.PNG?psid=1) 3. Click the Broken Documents tab at the far right of the ribbon.

    !\[\](http://xfprpw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1paXB9ScOFIzGIk3ET8QxaiIeijJh-6DE_JENW49DwUzT1XFXVksMwvKwP74HWXGtXz193fiCMeUIhADHBNd9ZN_IZa8FY2xEr/Rebuilder_Broken_Documents.PNG?psid=1) 4. Click the Rebuild button in the left-hand side and then locate and open your corrupt document.

                         ![](http://xfprpw.blu.livefilestore.com/y1p_zbO6cnAMo2zsd_muwehEZ1m94zD3OamW-yIggDoScDyf8Q5QnzVu6iOrVgV1W38cJa9zBBZnnFAi1M8SmRvZPU4GDC8NJJ0/Rebuilder_Rebuild.png?psid=1)

    That's it. The process will repair your document if possible and create a new document with (Rebuilt) appended to the filename. If a repair is not possible, you can then post to a public file area and someone here can attempt a manual repair.

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  3. Anonymous
    2011-04-21T15:33:57+00:00

    Help!

    Its happened again to the rebuilt file!

    PLEASE can you fix it?

    I've uploaded the file using a different site so hopefully there won't be any spam on it.

    Here is the link http://uploading.com/files/df1a86e5/Chapter%2B7%2B%2528Rebuilt%2529%255B1%255D.docx/

    many thanks

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  4. Anonymous
    2011-04-21T11:51:48+00:00

    Help!

    Its happened again to the rebuilt file!

    PLEASE can you fix it?

    I've uploaded the file using a different site so hopefully there won't be any spam on it.

    Here is the link http://uploading.com/files/df1a86e5/Chapter%2B7%2B%2528Rebuilt%2529%255B1%255D.docx/

    many thanks

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