Large Word Document spontaneously gains pages or loses words.

Anonymous
2018-03-02T21:38:27+00:00

When I transfered a large Word 2010 Doc to my new computer (into Word 2016) from the cloud, 1500 words disappeared. Nobody could figure out why or which words were missing.

Now that same file (Word 2016) has spontaneously added 10 pages (it went from 469 to 479 pages), but there are no blank pages and the page format and word count haven't changed. Can anyone tell me what could have happened?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2018-03-08T13:04:18+00:00

    The display of Hidden text is normally toggled along with other nonprinting characters ("formatting marks") using the Show/Hide ¶ button in the Paragraph group of the Home tab (see http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com/NonprintChars.htm), but certain marks can be selected to be displayed independent of the entirety; those settings are on the Display tab of File | Options. If you have not inserted XE fields to create an index or TC fields for use in a TOC, then there would normally not be any present.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-03-09T01:41:08+00:00

    Thank you for the information, Susanne. I checked and experimented with the features, but there weren't any hidden texts and the number of pages weren't affected.

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-03-11T15:38:54+00:00

    Hi Sue,

    If the file is not shared, no formatting (such as font, spacing, and style) changes applied, no page breaks applied, no blank pages, and no duplicate pages existing, it is possible that the file is damaged just like what Desiree Yau mentioned. Start by copying the affected document, pasting it into a new document, and checking if the issue is still happening.

    If yes, repair the file by following these steps:

    1. Click File.
    2. Choose Open.
    3. Select the file location.
    4. Click Browse.
    5. Select the damaged file.
    6. Click the arrow next to the Open button.
    7. Choose Open and Repair.

    Looking forward to your response.

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-03-14T06:12:07+00:00

    I followed Kristine Arp's suggestions. Copying and pasting the file didn't change the page or the word count. I ran the repair on the document and there was no change. 

    I also had a repair run on my entire computer and still no change.

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  5. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2018-03-14T08:14:10+00:00

    If it really troubles you, send me a copy of both documents, referencing this thread in the covering email message and I will investigate the issue.

    That is the only way the you may get some satisfaction.

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