Microsoft KB Archive/189567

= WD98: What Are Work Files and Temporary Items? =

Article ID: 189567

Article Last Modified on 10/29/2004

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh

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This article was previously published under Q189567



SUMMARY
Word 98 Macintosh Edition uses work files, also known as temporary items, to temporarily store information until a full save is performed on the document. Word will generally delete these files once they have been used. Work files that are left on the hard disk indicate that Word was not shut down properly, possibly because of a system error, power surge, or another problem.

Usually, these temporary files do not contain usable information and can be thrown away (dragged to the Trash). But sometimes the work files can contain part of the text of one of the documents that was being worked on.



How to Determine Whether a Work File Contains Information
To determine whether the work files contain any information, click View By Size on the Special menu (when no program is running).

If the files have any size, there is a possibility that some of the information may be recoverable. Use one of the following methods to try to recover the files.

Method 1: Open the File in Word
To open the file in Word, follow these steps:


 * 1) Start Word (Document1 should appear on the screen).
 * 2) Hold down the SHIFT key and click Open on the File menu.
 * 3) Locate a Word work file, temporary item, or recovered temp file and click Open.

The temporary file will be interpreted as a text file.

Method 2: Open the File with a Text Editor
To open the file with a text editor, follow these steps:
 * 1) Start MacTools, Tex-Edit Plus, or some other disk utility.
 * 2) Change the File Type of the Work Temp file from WTMP to WDBN (must be capitalized).
 * 3) Try opening the document in Notepad or SimpleText.

If the file contains text, it will be opened in the window (often with a lot of extraneous characters that will need to be deleted).

Work Files Used by the Auto Features in Word
Word for the Macintosh uses a similar technique for tracking changes When you work on a document. Word creates work files in the same location as the previously saved Word document. Typically Word work files will have either an alphabetic or alphanumeric suffix, such as "Word Work File D" or "Word Work File A2."

Because the Macintosh operating system does not provide for the definition of a Temp directory, Word work files are limited only by available disk space and the internal cache for Word.

By design, these files track changes for the Fast Save and AutoSave features and are removed when the current file is saved normally or when you quit Word. However, if Word abruptly freezes or quits due to a system error, these files are left behind. These remaining files may cause problems in subsequent editing sessions when Word attempts to track an operation such as moving an object.

For additional information about work files as they pertain to the Auto features of Word, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

176382 WD: Information about the AutoSave/AutoRecover Feature

108249 WD: Error Message "There Are Too Many Edits in the Document"

Additional query words: temp lost cannot

Keywords: kbinfo KB189567

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