Microsoft KB Archive/115095

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Embedded Object Becomes Blank Box in Reopened Document

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Q115095

6.00 6.00a 6.00c WINDOWS kbole buglist6.00 buglist6.00a buglist6.00c fixlist7.00

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

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SYMPTOMS
Sometimes when you close and then reopen a Word for Windows document that contains an embedded object (that is, the result of an {EMBED} field), the embedded object may become a blank box in the reopened document. If you double-click the blank box to edit it, Word displays the following error message:

Word cannot edit the object.

If you select the blank box and press DEL to remove it, the following error message occurs:

Word has insufficient memory. You will not be able to undo this action once it is completed. Do you want to continue?

If you choose Yes, Word deletes the object. If you choose No, Word displays the following error message:

There are too many edits in the document. This operation will be incomplete. Save your work.

If you save the document, the following error message occurs:

The disk is full trying to write to C:. Free some space on this drive or save the document on a different disk.

CAUSE
This problem happens if you do the following:


 * 1) Before you close the document, cut the embedded object (from the Edit menu, choose Cut).
 * 2) Close the document, and choose No when Word prompts you to save changes.
 * 3) Reopen the document. If the embedded object is still on the Windows Clipboard, the object displays as a blank box in Word when you reopen the document.

The problem does not occur if you delete the object from the Windows Clipboard or replace it with something else before you reopen the Word document. Moreover, the problem does not occur if you copy the embedded object (by choosing Copy from the Edit menu) instead of cutting it as described in step 1 above. Important: This is NOT the same as the problem in which a Word 2.x document object becomes corrupt after you edit it in Word 6.0. For more information about this separate problem, query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

"object and corrupt and editing and officeinterop and container"

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Word versions 6.0, 6.0a and 6.0c for Windows. This problem was corrected in Word version 7.0 for Windows 95.

WORKAROUND
Once it appears as a blank box, you cannot recover the embedded object in your document. If the embedded object still exists on the Clipboard, you can paste a new copy into your document and delete the blank box using the instructions in Method 1 below. If the embedded object no longer exists on the Clipboard, you must re-create the embedded object or insert it again by choosing the Object command on the Insert menu and selecting the Create From File tab.

Method 1
If you reopen a document and notice that Word is displaying an embedded object as a blank box, immediately do the following:

 Position the insertion point on a blank line in the document (for example, press ENTER to create a blank line under the embedded object). From the Edit menu, choose Paste. If your embedded object still exists on the Clipboard, Word pastes it in your document correctly. Select the blank box and press DEL. When the following error message appears, choose the Yes button: Save your document. No error message should occur.

Method 2
To avoid this problem in the future, use the following instructions to remove the embedded object from the Windows Clipboard before you reopen the Word document that contains the object:

  Open a different Word document. "-or-" Create a new Word document and type some text in it.  Select several characters. From the Edit menu, choose Copy or Cut. This replaces the embedded object with the current selection.</li> Close the document.</li> Reopen the Word document that contains the embedded object.

For more information about the Windows Clipboard, see your Windows documentation.</li></ol>